Upstairs and Downstairs
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: Klaus buys a house from his friend Jack only to find out that Jack's ex-wife Caroline is still attached to the place. When he sees that she's in debt, he offers to let her live with him as his tenant until she can get the money to pay off her landlord. KlausXCaroline
1. Reality Check

Disclaimer: Only plot and original characters belong to me!

"So let me get this straight, Jack," Klaus Mikaelson said to his friend as he plunked a wad of cash down in front of him. "You're giving me your house for five hundred dollars upfront and that's all? Why? What's the catch?"

"It just needs a lot of work done on it," Jack said. "It's a real fixer upper is all. Nothing else."

Klaus nodded. "Well, fine, Jack. I can deal with that. When can I move in?"

Jack shrugged. "As soon as you can get your things together, I guess," he said. "It's not like I have a deep attachment to the place or anything."

"I think I'll move in tomorrow if that's all right with you," Klaus said.

Jack nodded. "That's fine," he said. "Real fine."

* * *

The next day, Klaus arrived at the house. He told his driver to park the car in the street and then strode up to the front door, to which a young woman had handcuffed herself. "So!" She said angrily when she saw him. "You're the one Jack sold the house to! You one of his friends?"

"Yeah," Klaus said. "Who are you? What are you doing at my house?"

She frowned. "This isn't your house, it's my house!"

Klaus smiled. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. Jack Taylor sold it to me for five-hundred dollars flat. Says it's a real fixer upper."

"Jack Taylor," the young woman spat. "That snake! He had no right to sell this house to you. It's been in my family for years!"

"Is that so?" Klaus asked. "Who are you?"

"I'm Caroline," she said. "Jack's ex-wife. We're just recently divorced. It was my idea and this is his sorry way to get back at me. But I won't let him! If I have anything to do with it, you and he are not going to get past this front door!"

"Well, I'm sorry," Klaus said. "I think this is all a misunderstanding. When I bought the house, I had no idea that you even existed. If I _had _known, I wouldn't have done it. I would have stuck up for you." He grinned.

"Oh, shut up!" Caroline narrowed her eyes. "You're no different from Jack and the rest of his cronies. If you'd known about me, you'd still have taken this place for all it was worth!"

"Well, it's not really nice to form opinions about people before you actually meet them, is it?" Klaus asked. "It's so awkward talking this way. Tell me where the keys to the handcuffs are and I'll free you so we can sit down at lunch somewhere and talk about this like civilized people."

Caroline eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then sighed. "All right," she said. "But you have to promise not to do anything smart. The keys are in my back pocket."

Klaus' eyebrow went up. "All right," he said. He reached into her back pocket and took out the keys, running his hand over her butt. "Hey!" Caroline said. "Watch your hands, Mister!"

"Remember that I _am_ buying you lunch," he said, his eyes twinkling. "And if you didn't want me to touch you, you should have put your keys somewhere else!" He unlocked the handcuffs and once she was free, Caroline slapped him.

"Putting your hand in my pocket to get the keys was one thing, but I do _not_ remember giving you permission to cop a feel."

"All right, all right!" Klaus said, backing away from her with his hands up. "I'm sorry. I'll behave! Let's take my car. I know some good places to eat around here."

Caroline nodded. "All right. Now you go ahead of me."

"Oh, I don't think so," Klaus said. "I was always taught to let a lady go first."

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Caroline replied. "But I'm progressive and I say _you_ should go first!"

"Fine," Klaus said. "_I_ will go first. But you can't say I didn't at least make an _attempt_ at gallantry." He turned and began walking toward the car, and Caroline couldn't help but notice that he had a very nice ass. Much nicer than Jack's. When Klaus realized she wasn't following, he turned. "Aren't you coming?" He asked with a grin.

She nodded and blinked. "Oh, yes," she said, her face turning pink. "I'm coming."

* * *

"So where is it that we're going?" Caroline asked. "What sort of place?"

"It's a nice place," Klaus said. "If I'm going to be taking your house away from you, I figure I at least owe you that much."

"You're still gonna take it away from me even thought Jack sold it to you under false pretenses?" Caroline asked.

Klaus nodded. "Well, of course! I paid money for it. I'm not just gonna let that investment go to waste and I very much doubt Jack will give me my money back, so what choice do I have?"

"It's always about money," Caroline said. "Everything is a business deal anymore. No one cares about beauty, or history, or anything like that. No one really cares about the memories inside a house. But I do."

"Really?" Klaus asked. "What sort of memories? Why are you so attached to this house?"

"My great-grandfather built it with his own two hands," Caroline said. "The first thing he did after all his investments finally paid off and he got rich. He moved my great-grandmother in and they had their kids there and my family has owned the place ever since. It's a part of them and a part of me and I just don't want to see it go to any old person. Especially not one of Jack's friends. I want it to go to someone who will love it and appreciate it. "Someone like...someone like..."

"Someone like you?" Klaus asked. "Do you want it?"

"If I was totally honest, I would say that I do," Caroline said. "But Jack was correct when he told you it was a real fixer-upper. It's a mess and I can't afford to make all the necessary repairs by myself, so I guess selling it was a good thing to do. I just wish he would have told me first." She sighed.

They sat in silence until they reached the restaurant and Klaus led Caroline inside. "Your usual table?" The smiling host asked him.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Thank you."

Klaus and Caroline sat down after a brief argument that began when Klaus pulled her chair out for her, and then continued the discussion they'd had in the car.

"So now that you know why the house is so important to me, will you let me keep it?" Caroline asked.

Klaus shook his head. "No. But I would be willing to let you live in it as my tenant."

"What?" Caroline asked in shock. "Over my dead body! I will _not_ pay you to let me live in a house that should be mine anyway!"

"Well, all right," Klaus said. "But it's either that or say goodbye to the old place forever. What happened to the woman who was so passionate about the house that she handcuffed herself to the front door. Are you really gonna give up on it so easily? I'm ashamed, I really am."

"Don't you talk to me like that!" Caroline said. "You don't even know me!"

"It could be that I want to," Klaus said. "Did that ever occur to you?"

Before Caroline could reply, the waiter came and asked if they wanted wine.

"No, thank you!" Caroline said testily. "I want to keep my wits about me."

"Champagne," Klaus said. "Please."

The waiter nodded and left, coming back a few minutes later, pouring them each a glass, then taking their orders. Once he was gone, Klaus said, "Are you sure you don't want to take me up on my offer? You wouldn't even have to see me. It's a big house."

"Even so, I'm sure you'd find some excuse to knock on my door every night," Caroline said.

"My goodness," Klaus told her. "You're just a piece of work, aren't you? The day your divorce came through, Jack became the luckiest man alive."

"That's it," Caroline said. "Take me home. I don't have to listen to this anymore."

"If by 'home' you mean the house you just had yourself handcuffed to, that's my house not yours unless you agree to my terms," Klaus said.

"I didn't mean that," Caroline said. "I have a different home. An apartment down on Tower Street, building 311."

Klaus sucked in his breath. "Isn't that a bad part of town?"

"Maybe," Caroline said. "But really, it's all I can afford at the moment, not that it matters to you."

"I wasn't going to make light of your dire circumstances," Klaus said. "That happens to everyone at some point." He looked at her, concerned. She was thin, and pale, her cheeks were sunken. "How long has it been since you've gotten a good meal in you?" He asked her.

"I eat well enough," Caroline said. "It's just that I'm a skinny person."

"Even so," Klaus told her, "I would feel better if you ate your salmon. Then I promise you I will take you home to your little apartment and you'll never have to look at me again."

True to his word, after they finished their meals, Klaus drove her home, to a rundown area littered with police cars and rundown buildings.

"This is the place," he said. "Let me walk you to your door."

"That's not necessary," Caroline said.  
"I know," Klaus told her. "But I insist.

Grudgingly, she let him walk her inside, but when they reached her apartment, they found an eviction notice on the door. Angrily, Caroline pulled it off and strode away to find her landlord.

"What the hell is this?" Caroline asked, slamming down the notice in front of him.

"You're two months behind on your rent," he said. "You're lucky I didn't throw you out sooner."

"Why, you-" Caroline launched herself forward and grabbed his collar before Klaus pulled her back. "There's a much more civilized way to deal with this," he said. He looked at the landlord, a pudgy, bald, greasy man smoking a cigar. "How much does she owe?"

"A thousand," he said.

Klaus whipped out his check book and wrote the guy a check for $1500 dollars. "Here's the full amount," he said. "And an extra five-hundred with my compliments."

"No, no!" Caroline said, snatching the check out of his hands and ripping it up. "I'm _not_ taking charity from you. This is my problem, not yours. Thank you for taking me home, now go away."

"Where are you planning on staying until you get the thousand dollars?" Klaus asked her. "Obviously, you can't stay here."

Shutting her eyes tight, Caroline turned to face him. She opened her eyes and said, "Fine. I know what you're getting at and fine. I'll come and stay at the house with you, but _only_ until I get the money to pay off my debts and then I'm moving back here."

"Well, all right then," Klaus said. "Now that that's settled, let's go."


	2. Puttin' On The Ritz

"So tell me," Caroline said as they drove away. "What's the catch?"

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked.

"I mean, 'what's the catch?'" Caroline repeated. "Strangers don't just let other strangers live with them for no reason, even if they _have_ paid for food for them and felt them up."

"I wasn't thinking there would be a catch," Klaus said. "I was only trying to be nice. But what sort of catch would you like? And as for us being strangers, I'm Niklaus Mikaelson, but you can call me Klaus. And you're...Caroline, right?"

"Yes," Caroline nodded. "That's my name. I don't believe you!" She frowned. "First you steal my house and then you invite me to live in it, but I have to do something for you. You're really something, you know that?"

"I can't win with you, can I?" He asked.

Caroline shrugged. "I didn't know you wanted to."

"I just want to do whatever I can to make this as civilized an arrangement as possible," Klaus said. "So tell me, how do you see our living arrangement playing out?"

Caroline cleared her throat. "Well, first, and foremost, I want our lives to be completely separate. My finances are mine, I clean up my messes, that sort of thing. And you do the same with your stuff. We live in the same space, but we do _not_ do anything together unless it is absolutely necessary."

"That seems a little lonely," Klaus pointed out. "Are you sure that's what you want? It doesn't have to be that way."

"Look," Caroline told him. "If this sympathy routine is just your way of softening me up so you can get into my pants, I'm not falling for it, all right? I'm grateful that you took me away from my dickhead landlord, but that's all."

"Well, all right," Klaus nodded. "Thank you for telling me where you stand. I'll remember that."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Caroline said, "So Jack really didn't mention me at all when he sold you the house?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "He just took my money and said that I could move in as soon as I wanted because he wasn't attached to the place. But you obviously are."

Caroline nodded. "Obviously. But let me guess: You're gonna make me move into the basement while you take the master bedroom."

"Well do you _want_ to live in the basement?" Klaus asked. "I had the idea you'd be more comfortable in another room, but whatever you want you can have. Except for the master bedroom, because yes, that's mine."

Caroline scoffed. "You _would_ want that. Probably for the dozens and dozens of women you're gonna parade through our house, a different one every night! I'm probably gonna know their names better than you are, if you bother to know them at all." She paused. "_Do_ you get to know them, or do you just get what you need, pay them, and send them on their way?"

"I resent that!" Klaus said. "I think I am capable of having a normal, decent relationship, thank you very much. But how I go about getting into relationships is none of your business!"

"All right," Caroline said. "I see." She paused. "So, how many relationships have you actually had?"

"A lot," Klaus said. "More than you'd believe. What about you? Who else have you been with besides Jack? Did you drive the others away too?"

"I do not drive them away!" Caroline replied defensively. "Things always start out really good, and then they just...you know what? Never mind. I don't know why I'm telling you this. You don't really care."

"How do you know that?" Klaus asked. "Why don't you just give it a chance and say what you were going to say?"

Caroline sighed. "Every time I tried to tell Jack anything, he would always act like he was listening, but I could always tell that he didn't really give a damn."

"There's your problem right there," Klaus said. "You keep thinking that I'm like Jack. I'm not. Would Jack buy you lunch and then save you from your landlord and give you a place to live while asking for nothing in return whatsoever?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "Jack never asked for something unless he knew he was going to get something in return. He wasn't what you'd call an altruistic sort of person."

Klaus nodded ruefully. "I thought you'd say that. I've always felt that way. But what would a nice woman like you be doing with a man like Jack anyway?"

Caroline shrugged. "I guess I've just never had a good taste in men. I accepted a date from him because I was lonely. I hadn't been with anyone in _months_, and he had a winning smile and a good way of talking, so when he asked me out, I said 'yes'. Eventually, things got more serious, and we got married and when it was time for us to look for a place to live, I suggested the house, because I thought we'd need lots of space to, you know, have a family. Jack seemed relieved when the doctor told me I was barren, and then when we got home from the doctor's that day, that was when Jack made the plans to sell the house and get an apartment closer to his office."

"And when you found out he was going to sell the house, that's what made you decide to divorce him?" Klaus asked.

Caroline nodded. "It doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you get inside, you'll understand what I mean. Unless you've already been inside? I assume you have if you agreed to buy the house. Just what _were_ you planning to do with the house? Live in it? Sell it? Did this whole situation with me change things?"

"I wasn't expecting to have a tenant, if that's what you mean," Klaus said. "But yes, I _was _planning to live in it. By myself," Klaus said. He sighed.

"But it's such a big house!" Caroline pointed out. "You _had_ to have been thinking of having someone else move in with you besides me. Or someone else to begin with, since I wasn't even in your plans."

"No," Klaus shook his head. "I really wasn't."

"Oh," Caroline nodded. She lapsed into silence for a moment, thinking. Then, she gasped as an idea hit her. "I know!" She exclaimed. "What if you and I turn the house into a hotel? It's big enough and we have to do _something_ with all the extra rooms. It will give us a reason not to let them turn into a big, dusty mess."

Klaus grinned. "Now hold on a minute," he said. "Who in the world would want to visit a hotel around here? It's not exactly a big, touristy area."

"Ah-ha!" Caroline said. "But the house is old! I don't know for definite, but I bet that if I did some research, I could find some angle to bring people in. You know, a murder, 'x famous person slept here' something like that. You never know. And, I could be the person who runs the desk. And the money I make as desk person and reservation taker could go toward what I need to pay my landlord."

"Oh, I don't know," Klaus said. "I'll have to think about this."

"What's the matter?" Caroline asked, flabbergasted. "It's a great idea! Or do you just hate it because you didn't think of it first?"

"No, it's nothing like that!" Klaus said quickly. "It's just that, well, what is going to happen once you acquire all the money you owe your landlord? Are you just going to up and leave? Because I don't want to start this venture that you thought up if you're just gonna get bored and leave."

"Oh, no!" Caroline said. "I won't get bored and leave. If the hotel is a success, I'll stick with it, I promise."

Klaus nodded. "Well, all right then. I believe we just had ourselves a breakthrough."

* * *

"Wow," Klaus said, looking around the foyer. "When you said this was a big house, you were _not_ kidding!" The ceiling was so high that his voice echoed when he spoke.

Caroline nodded. "Yeah. So do you want me to give you the tour, or just show you to your room?"

Just then, an older lady walked into the room and squinted at them. "Who are you two?" She asked. "I've never seen you before."

"Yes, you have, Louise," Caroline said to the old woman, coming around to put her hand on the woman's shoulder. "It's me, Caroline. You remember me, don't you?"

"No," the woman got out, her voice sounding unused and dry. "You can't be Caroline. She died _years_ ago."

"She's a little senile," Caroline said to Klaus.

"Who is she?" Klaus asked. "Is she dangerous?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "She cleans up around here. She has since I was a little girl. There's just something about me that she never knew. And my parents never knew either, for the longest time, because I thought that if I told them, they would shun me."

"Never knew what?" Klaus asked. "You can tell me. I won't judge you. I have a secret that I bet is even darker than yours. But please, you go first."

Caroline sent Louise away, telling her to go dust some of the upstairs rooms. Once they were alone, Caroline said, "Okay, I'm just gonna spit this out and if you think I'm crazy and want to send me back to my rathole apartment, that's all right with me. But I think you should know before we become housemates and business partners that I'm a vampire." She shut her eyes tight and waited for the verbal blow she was sure would follow her announcement. Instead, she heard nothing. She opened her eyes and saw Klaus looking at her in shock.

"What?" She asked. "Say something."

"I will," he said. "Just a minute. I'm trying to wrap my mind around the fact that you're a vampire, you can compel anyone you want to do anything, and yet I found you living in a rathole apartment, allowing yourself to be bullied by your asshole of a landlord. _Why_?"

"_That's_ what shocks you about what I just said?" Caroline asked in surprise. "What about the general announcement?"

"Well, considering that I'm a vampire too, one of the first ever created as a matter of fact, you can't expect me to be shocked to find another one, can you?" He asked. "Now tell me: Why didn't you use your powers to help yourself get in a better situation?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it just never occurred to me. Look, my parents and everyone I grew up with were pretty much anti-vampire, okay? They always had it drummed into their heads that when it came to vampires, there was no gray area. All vampires were evil and must be destroyed. So when I became one, I thought the best chance for survival would be to blend in and act human, rather than to stand out and explore my powers. Does that make any sense to you?"

Klaus nodded. "It does, or at least it did when you lived with your parents and your friends. But what about now? Did you think that Jack was going to kill you too? Or did you tell him as well?"

Caroline shook her head. "No, I didn't. You're one of the few whom I've told over the years."

"Well, all right," Klaus said. "You asked me in the car what my angle was for letting you live with me here. Well, I just thought of it: I won't make you pay me any rent, I won't make you cook, I won't make you clean, you don't even have to see me the majority of the week if you don't want to. But every Saturday, you and I will explore your vampire abilities. I don't know how long you've had them, but however long it's been is _too long_ to be a vampire and be ignorant about what you can do. Now that you aren't in any danger from anyone, it's time for you to start learning a thing or two. Is that fair?"

Caroline nodded. "Yes, that's fair." She paused. "So, do you want to see the rest of the house now?"

"Certainly," Klaus nodded. "You lead the way."

Caroline grinned. "So, do you want to start at the bottom and work our way up to the top, or start on top and work your way to the bottom?"

Klaus grinned. "I like it on top," he said.

"Yeah," Caroline said. "I just bet you do." But she led him up to the cobwebby, cramped, dark attic anyway.

"My god," Klaus said when Caroline opened the door. "How much stuff is up here?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "But it's all junk no one ever uses. I think I might like to bring some of it down, though. Dust some of it off and it could give the house a very classic feel. Like this, for example." She picked up a blue and white Ming vase to show it to Klaus, but as she made her way toward him, she heard a squeaking come from inside the vase. It made her jump and she dropped the vase and jumped into Klaus' arms as a large, fat rat ran across the attic floor. Klaus took the opportunity to breath in the scent of her shampoo when he found her head positioned near his shoulder.

"Sorry," she said after a moment. "I know it's silly for me to be scared of an animal like that, but I really don't like vermin. I guess we'll have to call an exterminator or something."

"No," he said, still holding on to her. "It's fine. You don't have to apologize. It's my pleasure to help a lady when she's in distress."

Caroline grinned, flushing lightly. "I'll give you that one," she admitted. "Thanks for not dropping me."

He nodded. "It's not a problem," he said. "You're very light." He put her down and said, "So you mentioned you want to look for things to bring downstairs for decoration? As long as we're up here, we might as well start looking."

"I don't know," Caroline said. "We already found one rat. Who knows how many more there are."

"Well, look at this," Klaus said. "And old wardrobe. Shall we see what's in it?"

Caroline came to stand next to him. "You do it," she said.

"Do you think there's a body in there or something?" Klaus asked playfully.

"Well, you never know!" Caroline said. "This stuff's been up here for _years_!"

"Wardrobes are all right," he said. "It's chests you need to worry about. Oak chests."

"Why?" Caroline asked. "What's the problem with oak chests?"

Klaus grinned and began reciting: "At length an oak chest, that had long lain hid, was found in the castle. They raised the lid, and a skeleton form lay mouldering there, in the bridal wreath of that lady fair! O, sad was her fate! In sportive jest, she hid from her lord in the old oak chest. It closed with a spring! And, dreadful doom, the bride lay clasped in her living tomb! Oh, the mistletoe bough. Oh, the mistletoe bough."

"What the hell is that?" Caroline asked. "I think it's horrible!"

Klaus put a hand on her shoulder. "It's the final verse of a poem called "The Mistletoe Bough" by a man named Thomas Haynes Bayley, written in 1830. It's also the basis for an urban legend known as 'Bride-and-go-seek', I believe."

Caroline shuddered. "Well, now that you've gone and told me that, I _really_ don't want to open the wardrobe. You do it, please." He smirked as she shut her eyes tight and looked away from the wardrobe. She heard him open it and let out a shriek.

"Calm down!" He said, putting a hand on her mouth. "There's nothing in it but clothes. Really old, dusty clothes."

Finding her courage, Caroline approached the wardrobe and cautiously reached out for a dusty dark blue ballgown. "This is beautiful," she said. "A little dressy to wear anymore these days, but beautiful."

Klaus took it out. "Go put it on," he said. "It looks like it will fit you."

Caroline grinned. "No," she said. "I couldn't. I would feel too ridiculous."

"Why?" He asked. "Because it would make you look beautiful? Come on, Caroline. Try it on. I dare you."

Feeling warm rise up in her cheeks as he grinned at her, she pulled the dress out of his grasp. "Fine," she said and stomped off into a corner. "But no looking at me while I'm naked!"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," he said. "I won't look until you say." True to his word, he kept his eyes closed until she gave the word, but he couldn't help imagining her dressed in little to nothing anyway, and he liked what he saw.

She cleared her throat. "Could you come here a minute?" She asked.

"What is it?" He asked her.

"This dress has a bunch of little buttons down the back and I can't get my fingers around them," she said. "Could you give me a hand?"

He came to stand behind her and slowly buttoned up the teeny weeny buttons that lined the back of the dress. "Dresses like these weren't made to be easy to get in and out of," he said.

"And that's probably a good thing," Caroline said. "It made it more difficult for men who had certain ideas on their minds."

Klaus looked up with a grin. "Oh, never underestimate what a man will do when he wants a woman, Caroline," he said, pausing with the buttons for a moment to lightly run his fingers over her bare back. "Some men are very persistent. They don't let anything get in their way."

Caroline suddenly felt warmth in her face.

He finished buttoning her buttons and she turned around.

"So what do you think?" She asked him. "I look ridiculous, don't I?"

He gasped a little. "No," he said, his voice filled with amazement. "You look beautiful, Caroline. Really, you do."

She laughed. "Aw, go on!"

"No, I mean it!" He said. He looked down at his own clothes which, although not casual-casual, were business casual: khaki pants and a white and dark blue striped, button-down shirt. "You make me feel horribly under-dressed."

Caroline went back to the wardrobe. "Well, let's see what we can do for you," she said. It took a bit of looking, but she finally managed to find a suit for him. He changed into it and then they stood in front of an old, floor length mirror, gazing at their reflections.

"We look good," Caroline observed.

"Yes," Klaus nodded, taking her hand. "We do."

"You know what this means, don't you?" Caroline asked.

"What?" Klaus asked.

"We're going to have to have theme nights or fancy dinners or something," Caroline said. "I look good like this and there is _no way_ I'm gonna let all these nice clothes just sit up here and rot."

Klaus nodded. "I agree. That's a good idea." He held Caroline at arms' length and looked down her body again. "You look wonderful."

"Thanks," she told him. "Do you want to see the rest of the house?"

He nodded. "Yes, of course."

"Well, I guess that means I have to change back into my clothes then," she said. "Could you give me a hand with my buttons?" She turned and he undid her buttons again. She put on her clothes and then Klaus put the dress back in the wardrobe.

"Do you want me to help you out of _your_ clothes?" She asked. "Or do you think you can handle it?"

"I think I can handle it for now," he said. "But who knows? At some point, my answer may change."

"Well, all right," Caroline said. "You take your time. I'll be downstairs waiting for you. Next, I'll show you your bedroom."

"Wonderful," Klaus said. "I can't wait."


	3. Spread My Wings and Fly

Klaus undressed quickly and put on his regular clothes before coming back downstairs to meet Caroline.

"You got back fast," Caroline said. "I thought you'd be up there longer looking at yourself."

Klaus grinned wolfishly. "Well, you said you were going to take me to see my bedroom next and I didn't want to miss that."

Caroline sighed. "Fine," she said. "Come on. Let's go." She led him to a large, oak door and with a grunt, pulled it open, revealing a red-painted room with red blankets on the bed. "There you go," she said dryly, pointing. "There's your bedroom."

"Well, aren't you going to take me in?" He asked.

Caroline scoffed. "No, I will not! You are a grown man. You can look around a room yourself without any help from anyone."

"Oh, please?" Klaus asked. "I was _so_ hoping you would take me in there."

"Eh-heh-heh" Caroline gave a fake laugh. "Well, aren't you just a comedian?"

Klaus grinned. "You think so?"

"Well obviously _you_ do," Caroline said.

Klaus cleared his throat. "So where are we going to go now, since clearly we're not going any farther here?"

Caroline sighed. "Well, I guess I should show you the other rooms here, shouldn't I?" She spent the rest of the day showing him the house and by nightfall, she was yawning.

"Maybe you should get some rest," Klaus said. "We've had a long day walking around here. You look tired."

Caroline stretched and yawned. "I _am_ tired. I think I _will_ go to sleep."

"But where?" He asked her. "Where do you plan on sleeping?"

"I think I'll take one of the rooms down here," Caroline said "Upstairs can be your area and downstairs can be mine." She paused. "Well, at least until we get things ready for the hotel. Then we'll both have to sleep upstairs or whatever, but until then, I'll be down here and you can be up there."

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked her. "I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable and there _are_ several empty rooms upstairs."

Caroline sighed and took his hand. "Come on," she said. "Let me show you why I like it down here." She led him around as she looked for something that she just couldn't seem to find.

"There's a secret room," she explained. "A spot on the wall opens the door, but I can't seem to find the spot."

"You know," Klaus told her, "I'm really good at finding secret spots."

"Fine," Caroline said, stepping back from the wall and letting go of his hand. "See what you can do."

Klaus nodded and went over to the wall, and began tapping on it. Then he tried another spot. And another, but nothing happened.

"You know what?" Caroline said at last. "You tried. I'll give you that. I guess I'll just have to sleep in another room." She turned and her foot hit the crinkle in an ornate and faded rug and she let out a squeal. Klaus sped over and caught her just before she hit the floor then there was a rumbling noise as the wall moved.

"What the hell?" Klaus asked as a secret room revealed itself. "What _is_ that?"

"Oh, there it is!" Caroline said. "There's where I want to sleep!" She pushed the rug aside and nodded. "I should have remembered that that's where the trigger was. We'll have to make note of that when people come so nobody hurts themselves."

"How would one indicate the presence of a switch to uncover a secret room?" Klaus asked. "Careful, secret lever ahead?"

"Well, no," Caroline said. "But we have to think of _something_, don't we?" She got out of Klaus' grasp and brushed herself off. "All right," she said. "I'm going to bed. You have a pleasant evening."

"You're not going to sleep like that?" Klaus asked. "In your clothes? You don't have pajamas here, do you?"

"Oh, damn!" Caroline swore. "All my clothes are at my old apartment. Shit!" She sighed. "I guess I have no choice but to sleep like this, do I?"

"Well, you could always sleep naked," Klaus suggested. She glared and he shook his head. "Or not. So, the two things on our list tomorrow will be: one, go shopping and get you some new clothes and two, check all the fixtures and outlets and things of that nature and see what needs to be repaired."

"I would just say that everything does," Caroline said. "Show me an outlet and I bet it will be screwed up somehow."

"Well, we'll see in the morning," Klaus said. "You just try and get your rest."

Caroline nodded. "Good night, Niklaus."

"Goodnight, Caroline," he said. "But just one thing: please, call me Klaus."

* * *

Caroline woke up the next morning and looked down at herself. Her clothes were really rumpled and ripe with sweat. She went to look at herself in the mirror. She was a mess. She needed to shower before she did anything else.

She walked to the other side of the secret passage way luckily for her, the trigger to get the door open was much more obvious on this side: A tiny statue of the Venus de Milo. She pulled on it and the door opened, causing Klaus, who was standing on the other side, to jump.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked. "I know I look bad in the morning, but I'm going to clean up, I swear!"

Klaus shook his head. "It's not you," he said. "I was expecting you to be knocking furiously and yelling at me to get you out, that's all. _That's_ why I'm so surprised to see you."

"Oh," Caroline nodded. "Well, thank you for thinking of me." She cleared her throat. "I have to go take a shower now. I feel absolutely disgusting."

Klaus nodded. "Well, all right. You go and do that. But what are you planning to do for clothes? You can't be thinking of wearing _those_ for the second day in a row." He indicated the clothes she was wearing.

"I don't know what I'm going to do once I get out of my shower, but I will put on a robe and think of something," Caroline said and strode off to the bathroom.

Once she was gone, Klaus went back up to the attic and rifled through the dresses again, picking out a blue one to go with Caroline's eyes. He put it on a hanger and walked to the bathroom nearest to the secret room, figuring that was where she'd gone to shower. Sure enough, he heard the water running and Caroline singing. She sang beautifully. He'd planned to just drop the dress off and go back to his coffee and breakfast, but instead, he held onto the dress and waited, just listening to her voice as it drifted to him from behind the bathroom door. He was completely lost in it until the water stopped and she opened the bathroom door with a shriek.

"Here you are again!" She said. "Are you gonna be waiting behind doors everywhere I am?"

He got to his feet and held out the dress. "I brought you this from the attic," he said. "I thought you could wear it, at least until we see about getting you some new things."

Caroline took it and looked at it. "Thank you," she said. "But I don't see why we have to go buy me a whole new wardrobe. Why can't we just go back to my old apartment and demand the landlord give me back my stuff?"

"I don't want you going back there," Klaus said immediately. "It's not safe. And besides, the scum's probably sold everything already. He seems like the type to do just that."

"Oh," Caroline's mouth twisted to one side. "All right," she said. "I guess we have no choice then. We have to get me new things."

"You sound dismayed," Klaus said. "I thought you would be happy. We _are_ talking about going shopping, after all."

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "I know, and ordinarily I would be ecstatic because I _love_ shopping, but as per the reason why I got kicked out of my old apartment, _I have no money_! How am I supposed to afford a whole new wardrobe? When we got divorced, Jack took me for everything I had, but I didn't care because it was worth being free of him, but now I just don't have anything, not even a single penny."

"Well, I guess that just means I'll be paying then, doesn't it?" Klaus asked cheerfully. "Now put your dress on and let's go. It's not like you can refuse. You don't want to be walking around here naked, do you? Cause it's what will happen if you don't let me buy you clothes." But he had a twinkle in his eye that made Caroline's eyes widen.

"If you know that my being naked is the alternative to buying me clothes, why are you so eager to head to the mall?" She asked. "I would have thought you'd prefer me naked."

"Well, Caroline, I am a gentleman, and a gentleman gets to know a woman before he suggests that she walk around a house naked," Klaus said. "Unless of course, you're offering."

Caroline shook her head. "In your dreams." She sighed. "Fine, I'll get dressed and we'll go to the mall and get me some new clothes, but the only reason why I'm going along with _any_ of this is because I have no other choice, all right?"

Klaus grinned and nodded. "That's exactly what you said when you agreed to move in with me and wouldn't you know it? Right now we're in the process of having a great time, what with that hotel idea you had and all."

"And who knows how long _that_ will take?" Caroline groaned. "There's so much around here that needs fixing, but first we need to start with the plumbing. My shower was a disaster."

"It didn't _sound_ like a disaster," Klaus said. "You were singing and everything. Beautifully too, I might add."

Caroline blushed a little. "Well, thank you, but the only reason I was singing was to take my mind off the fact that the water was so cold. It would just not warm up, even though I had the dial as far on warm as it would go. I should have been scalded, but I wasn't."

"Well, I'm sorry you were uncomfortable," Klaus said.

"Well, better me than one of the guests," Caroline replied. "Okay, getting dressed now!"

She took the dress and went back to her room, pleased that Klaus had picked a dress for her that was reasonably modern-looking and not the blue gingham number she'd seen that would have made her look either like she'd just stepped off the prairie or returned from Oz.

When she returned, Klaus jingled a set of keys at her. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yes," she nodded and followed him to his car, and they drove away. Caroline looked out the window as they passed several modestly priced clothing outlets and she turned to face Klaus. "You _do_ know you've passed a bunch of perfectly workable clothing stores, right?" She asked. "Let's back up and stop at one of them."

"Not if I'm paying we're not," he said. "I'm not just getting you more expensive stuff to prove some point, if that's what you're thinking. I'll get you things that will last longer so we won't have to do this as often."

"'We'?" Caroline asked. "I am _not_ letting you come with me every time I need to buy clothes. I have been shopping for years. I'm perfectly capable of doing it on my own."

"Well, all right," Klaus told her. "But it's your loss." He kept driving and they finally stopped at a helicopter landing pad where a helicopter sat, blades whirring loudly. "Why are we stopping?" Caroline yelled. "I don't think we can buy clothes here!"

"No, but the helicopter will take us to a place where we _can_ buy clothes," Klaus said without looking at her. When the helicopter door opened and a rope ladder unfurled in front of Caroline, Klaus said, "Are you going to be all right going up the ladder? Because I can give you a boost if you would like."

"Is this the only way to get wherever it is we're going?" Caroline asked.

"No," Klaus shook his head. "But it's the quickest. You're not afraid of heights, are you?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "But I have a thing about planes."

"This isn't a plane," Klaus told her. "This is a helicopter."

"So?" Caroline asked. "They're practically the same thing!" Her muscles were beginning to tighten, making movement difficult. Finally, Klaus picked her up and threw her in. She landed with a thump.

"Hey!" She cried. "You could have been gentler!"

"There's no time for me to be gentle!" Klaus said. "We're on a schedule!" He paused. "But I'm sorry," he said. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Caroline said. "But I do _not_ like being tossed places like a sack of potatoes, thank you very much!" She scrambled to her feet and sat down, buckling her seatbelt. "I'm gonna be okay," she whispered. "I'm gonna be okay. I just need to relax and think of something happy...something pleasant and relaxing. Like a little stone cottage. With flowers all around it on a sunny day, and birds chirping happily..." she shut her eyes and relaxed, at least until the helicopter gave a roar and rose from the ground. Then, she bolted upright, clawing at her seatbelt. "Let me out!" She screamed. "Let me out, let me out!"

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," Klaus said. "We've already left the ground."

"This helicopter is going to explode, I know it," Caroline said, "and we're going to plunge to our doom in an incredibly painful fireball."

"Well, here's the thing," Klaus told her. "_If_ the helicopter explodes, you won't feel a thing, so there you go."

"Was that supposed to help me?" Caroline asked. "Because you _really_ need to work on your bedside manner."

"Think of something happy to distract yourself," Klaus said. "Sing yourself a happy song."

"All right," Caroline nodded. "I'll sing myself a happy song: I love Paris in the springtime, I love Paris in the fall, I love-" She broke off as the pilot began muttering something to Klaus in a language she couldn't understand. "What's he saying?" She asked.

"Oh, that?" Klaus asked. "He said there's a crack in the engine, but it's just a little one and we should get to New York with no problem."

Caroline's eyes widened. "Oh, my god!"

"I'm just kidding," Klaus said. "Calm down. You're just a big ball of nerves, aren't you?"

Caroline turned. "I don't think there's anything wrong with expressing my emotions!" She said. "Healthy people express their emotions all the time. Express, not repress."

Klaus smirked. "In that case, you must be one of the healthiest people on earth."

"Oh, shut up!" Caroline said.

"Fine, I'm sorry," Klaus said. They sat in silence for a moment and then Caroline said, "Did you say we're going to New York?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Did I forget to mention that?"

"We're going all the way to New York to buy me clothes? Why? There are lots of perfectly nice outlets near the house."

"I think you're only saying this because you're afraid of flying," he said. "Tell me, have you ever been out of the country? Have you ever wanted to see the world?"

"Of course I have," Caroline told him. "Everybody wants to at one time or another, I'm sure, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Because you don't like planes?" Klaus asked. "How did you travel? Or did you just sit in that rathole apartment of yours wishing for someone to take you away?"

"Jack never liked to travel," Caroline said. "He always said we would someday, but then some work thing would always pop up and out the window our travel plans would go. There was _one_ time he tried to take me on a business trip with him, but I, of course, freaked out on the plane and he vowed never to take me again."

"You and Jack are finished," Klaus said. "There's no need to think of him anymore. Especially if it makes you miserable. It's time for you to start fresh, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Caroline said. "I guess I do. Thanks."

"Now how about you try looking out the window?" Klaus asked. "You're depriving yourself of some very fascinating scenery by not looking. I'll even hold your hand while you look if that will make you feel safer."

He took her hand and she opened her eyes, cautiously turning to look out the helicopter window. She gasped. "Oh, my god," she whispered. "It's beautiful!" She stared, enraptured, at the view outside the window until the helicopter landed. Then Klaus got up out of his seat and left the helicopter first, and then looked up at Caroline as she followed him. "Do you want to try your luck with the ladder, or do you want me to help you down?" He asked.

"Can I trust you to catch me?" Caroline called.

Klaus held out his arms. "I'm ready," he said. "Go ahead and jump."

Shutting her eyes, Caroline took a leap, landing squarely in Klaus' arms. He swayed a little, but kept a firm grip on her.

"You caught me!" She said in surprise. "I didn't think you would, honestly. I mean, not on purpose, but you know, sometimes gravity takes over and everything just falls."

He grinned and put her down. "You know, I'm proud of you," he said.

"Why?" She asked. "What did I do?"

"You went up in a helicopter even though you were scared, you looked out the window even though you were scared, you trusted me to catch you even though you didn't have to, why shouldn't I be proud of you?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I just didn't think that was worth being proud of," she said. "But thank you." And then, to his surprise, she put her arms around him and gave him a hesitant hug.

"Sorry," she said when she pulled away. "I know we don't know each other very well, and I hope I wasn't overstepping when I did that."

Klaus shook his head. "Oh, no, it's fine. Thank you," he told her.

"You're welcome," she replied. "Now, where are we getting my clothes?"

A limo appeared at that moment and Klaus instructed the driver to take them to a Chanel store nearby.

"Chanel? Really?" Caroline asked.

Klaus nodded. "Of course. Why not?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know. I just never expected-" She trailed off, unable to think of a way to end the sentence.

They reached the store and after Klaus tipped the taxi driver, they went inside. Caroline was confused for a moment. She saw no clothes, just a very thin woman in black sitting at a desk.

"Hello," she said, looking up at them. When she saw Klaus, her eyes widened. "Mr. Mikaelson! This is a pleasant surprise. We weren't expecting you."

"Well, my friend Caroline needs a new wardrobe and I was wondering if you could help her out," he said.

The woman looked her over. "I think we might be able to do a thing or two," she said. She gave Caroline an appraising look. "Black and white are in this season," she said. "Would you like me to get you a bunch of clothes in black and white, or-"

"I prefer colors," Caroline said. "Please bring me colors."

They spent the rest of the afternoon picking out a rainbow of a wardrobe for Caroline that filled bag after bag, and when it was all finally loaded into the taxi, she felt embarrassment creep over her at all she'd bought.

"I'm sorry," she said to Klaus. "I just-I let myself go overboard and I shouldn't have because it's not even my money I'm spending and I'm sorry, so let's just take some of these and tell the lady that I don't want them, and-"

Klaus put a hand on her wrist and pulled her to him, kissing her. When they finally pulled apart, he said, "Do you want all the clothes you bought today?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Well, then I demand you keep them," he said. "If you have any problem with that, think of them as a business investment. You have nice clothes, which will make you beautiful and confident when managing the hotel, which will make people want to come, which will make us rich, you see what I mean?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "I do. If you look at it that way, then I guess it's all all right. Now are you _sure_ you don't mind paying for all this?"

"Yes, I'm sure I don't mind," Klaus said. "Now just get in the limo."

"All right," Caroline said. "I was only checking."

"Where to?" The driver asked them.

"To the heliport," Klaus said.

"Yeah," Caroline added. "And once we get in the helicopter, it'll only be a short while until we get home."

"That's the second time you've said that," Klaus told her. "I like it."

"Well, wouldn't you say that the house you and I are living in is our home?" Caroline asked. "Screwed up plumbing and all?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "It is our home. Screwed up plumbing and all."


	4. A Few Small Repairs

Over the next few weeks, Klaus and Caroline began taking stock of everything in the house that needed fixing. First and foremost was the matter of the plumbing. Every shower in the house fluctuated between too hot and too cold until it finally got stuck on cold, except, strangely enough, between ten to ten-thirty in the morning when it was warm.

"You shower between ten and ten-thirty," Klaus said to Caroline when they finally realized this. "You should have the warm water."

"And I think we should take turns," Caroline said. "One day you have the hot water and the next day, I do!"

They stood in silence for a moment, before Klaus finally said, "Would it be too much for me to suggest that we could resolve this easily by showering at the same time?"

Caroline nodded. "We could, but darn it," She heaved an exaggerated sigh. "That might ruin our relationship," she said. "Once I see you naked, it could make me just _overcome _with desire and then the fate of our hotel would be hung in the balance. So let's not mix business with pleasure yet, shall we?"

"Are you mocking me?" Klaus asked. "Because I will have you know that I have turned quite a few heads in my time and if you _did_ see me naked, then you _would_ be overwhelmed. There is no question."

"Right," Caroline nodded. "So you agree that for the sake of business, we should just keep our clothes on for the time being?"

Klaus nodded. "I will if you will."

"Try and stop me," Caroline said.

"Are you challenging me?" He asked. "Because if you want me to, I really _will_ try."

"That's it," Caroline said. "It doesn't matter to me that I don't know how to fix a shower. This is an emergency, so I'll try anyway!"

"I wouldn't!" Klaus called after her. "You'll probably just make things worse."

"No, I won't!" Caroline called after him. But about twenty minutes later, he heard a shriek and a rush of water. Grinning, he went into the bathroom, and found Caroline ankle deep in water, her white dress completely soaked and sticking to her body. He grinned, boldly looking her over. "See?" He said. "I told you something would go wrong. But hey, at least you tried, right?"

Caroline glared. "Oh, shut up and go call a plumber!" She stepped forward. then slipped and fell face first into the water, which was getting deeper by the second, thanks to a stream of water falling from an open pipe sticking out of the wall. "I am _not_ happy!"

Klaus just looked at her and laughed, and when he held out his hand to help her up, she took it and pulled him into the water beside her. "There," she said, smiling with satisfaction. "Now, you're as wet as I am!"

Klaus stared at her with narrowed eyes for a moment, then splashed her.

"What did you do that for?" She asked, wiping water out of her eyes.

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe I felt like it!"

"Well, fine!" Caroline replied. And she splashed him. This when back and forth for awhile before Caroline finally put a stop to it. "All right!" She yelled. "Truce! Truce! For the love of god, look at us! We're sitting in a flooded bathroom, soaked to the skin and splashing each other!"

"So?" Klaus asked, flicking water at her again. "What's the problem?"

"Well, we need to _fix_ this problem," Caroline said. "Instead of sitting here, acting stupid and making it worse. Now, since you don't seem inclined to call the plumber, I think I'll have to go and do it."

"Oh, that's not necessary," Klaus said. "I'm quite handy. I could take care of all this myself and we wouldn't have to call anyone."

"You're not just saying that to try and impress me, are you?" Caroline asked. "You _really_ know how to fix plumbing and stuff?"

"Come on," Klaus said. "What good would lying to you do? How would that help us out of our current predicament?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know. But you can't blame me for asking."

"Well, I _do_ know how to fix plumbing and stuff," Klaus said. "For real."

"How?" Caroline asked. "Why? You seem too...upper class to bother to know how to fix things."

"Well," Klaus shrugged. "A man lives for a thousand years, he's gotta have a hobby, doesn't he?"

Caroline nodded. "Yeah, I guess. So what do we do first?"

"Well, we should get the water out, shouldn't we? And then I have to go and buy some pipe and..." Klaus began wading around the bathroom, muttering and making mental lists about what he needed to do.

"I'll go get something to plug up that pipe!" Caroline said and left the bathroom. As she headed out and Klaus got a good glimpse of her underwear under her wet dress, he called after her, "You might want to put on some dry clothes, too!"

"Right!" Caroline called. "I might want to do that!"

Klaus looked at the water that surrounded him, thankful he'd decided to dress casually today. Any water on one of his suits and they would have been ruined for good. He got up out of the water and left the bathroom to find a bucket, dripping water all over the carpet. Eventually, he found a bucket, filled it, and blindly dumped it out the window, elicting screams from people walking on the sidewalk below. Chuckling to himself, he said, "I just had to do that once." He filled the bucket more times, but emptied them out onto the grass in the yard instead. When he came back after dumping the fifth bucketful, he found Caroline tucking a rag into the broken pipe. "There we go," she said. "Now, no more extra water." She looked around. "You seem to have made a lot of progress in here, but I have to say that dumping water on people isn't going to make them like you."

"I only did it once," Klaus said. "It's not like a did it a lot of times. Come on, love. Is it my fault if they can't handle one harmless little prank?"

"Yeah, well it better only be this once," Caroline said. "We don't want people with pitchforks showing up at the door to throw us out. That woud _definitely_ not be good for business."

Klaus smirked.

"What?" Caroline asked.

"Well, it's just that it's been years since angry mobs showed up with pitchforks anywhere," he said. "I highly doubt we'd have to worry about that now," he said.

"Even so," Caroline said. "Don't do anything else to aggrevate the neighbors!"

"Fine," Klaus said. "I won't. Would you go down and turn the water off?" He asked her. "I won't be able to fix anything until that's done."

"All right," Caroline said. She went and turned off the water. "By the way," she said, "The sink in the kitchen is screwed up too."

"Great," Klaus said. "I'll add that to the list."

"Actually," Caroline said hesitantly, "I was wondering if maybe _I _could fix the kitchen sink? Or at least help you do it? That way I won't feel entirely useless while you're doing all the work."

Klaus turned. "Well, I don't see why we can't start there, then," he said. "Do you know where the tools are kept?"

"I think in the kitchen," Caroline said. "On the bottom shelf of the pantry closet. Do you remember where the kitchen is?"

"I might," Klaus said. "But it wouldn't hurt for you to show me again."

She led him to the kitchen and opened the pantry closet door, bending over to grab the tool chest from the floor. Dust kicked up and made both Klaus and Caroline sneeze.

"Jack never used this," Caroline explained. "Someone got it for him for Christmas one year, for a reason I'll never know, and he put it away in here, saying that if God had intended for him to fix things, then there wouldn't be repairmen or plumbers or other people like that."

Klaus grinned. "Well, Jack _clearly_ never lived in a time where people had no choice but to do everything themselves, did he?"

Caroline shook her head. "Was it hard?" She asked. "Living way back when?"

Klaus nodded. "It was hard, but it was also just...life, you know? We couldn't do anything about it. I was very pleased when supermarkets appeared and I no longer had to kill my own food and save it for the winter."

"By the time supermarkets appeared, it had been _years_ since you'd needed food for actual nourishment," Caroline reminded him."

Klaus shrugged. "So? That doesn't mean I can't enjoy food every once in awhile, and it's a lot easier to get when you don't have to kill it yourself."

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "That's a good point." She handed him the toolbox. "There you go," she said. They walked over and put it next to the sink and Klaus got down on his knees to open the doors that exposed the plumbing. "Now come here," he said to Caroline. "And lay down so that you're looking up at the pipes."

Caroline nodded. "All right," she said. She got down on her knees next to him and then turned over so that she was lying on her back with her head under the sink. "Now what?" She asked.

Klaus handed her a wrench. "Take this," he said. "And attach it to the..." He kept talking to her, but focusing on the job at hand was very difficult. His eyes kept wandering down to her stomach, where her shirt had hiked up, exposing a patch of it. He wanted to touch it, kiss it, see how soft her skin was, just for a little bit.

"Did I turn it over enough?" Caroline asked.

"No," he said, snapping out of his reverie. "A little more, a little more..." he leaned over her body, his fingers touching the warm skin of her collarbone. "There!" She yelled. "I think I got it!"

"Well, let's see," Klaus said. "Turn the water back on and we'll see." Caroline turned the water on and the sink seemed to work just fine.

"Excellent work," he said. "Now we can move on to bigger problems."

Caroline let out her breath. "All right," she said. "You tackle the shower and I'll do some dusting."

He nodded and as he made his way out of the kitchen, she began humming "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White. She grabbed a dust cloth and began dusting off the counters, occasionally doing a little pirouette. He decided to forgo fixing the shower for a few minutes just to watch her. At one point, she gave him a wink and he took her hand and twirled her around as she hit the dust cloth against the trashcan. the dusting was done, Klaus strode off to fix the shower and Caroline grabbed a broom and danced with it instead. "And as you sweep the room, imagine that the broom, is someone that you love and soon you'll find you're dancing to a tune..." She stopped and giggled. She was having _way_ too much fun.

She put the broom down and went back to the bathroom to see how Klaus was coming along. "Hey," she said, opening the door. "I've done all I can in the kitchen for now. How are things going in he-" She stopped midsentence when he turned. He wasn't wearing a shirt. "Oh, my god," she said. "You should warn people when you're dressed like that."

Klaus grinned. "Why?" He asked. "Then I'd miss seeing that priceless look on your face." He paused, taking in her shocked expression. "So, you said you finished in the kitchen?"

Caroline looked up at him. "Excuse me," she said. "Did you say something?"

"I asked if you'd finished in the kitchen," Klaus repeated.

"Yep," Caroline nodded, trying to appear more nonchalant. "That's what I came to tell you. That I've finished in the kitchen. I think you'll be impressed."

"I think I will be," he said to her. "I know_ you _are."

"If I say that I am, will you put your shirt back on?" Caroline asked. "I think we've done enough work for today, anyway. We can keep going tomorrow."

"Hmmm..." Klaus thought a moment. "No."

"Why not?!" Caroline asked.

"Because you don't really want me to," he said, walking toward her and backing her up against the wall. "Do you?"

She looked up at him for a moment and said, "Fine, if that's the game you want to play, I can play too!" She unbuttoned her shirt, revealing a red bra, and threw it on the floor. "And yes, the panties _do_ match," she said, and snuck under his arm, then picked up her shirt and strode away.

Klaus laughed. "Well played, Caroline," he said after she'd gone. "Well played."


	5. Not Without A Fight

A few days later, as Klaus and Caroline ate breakfast, the doorbell rang. "I can get it," he said, standing up and swallowing. "Caroline, you sit."

"Well, all right," Caroline shrugged. "If you insist." She sat down and Klaus left the kitchen and headed to the front door. When he opened it, he saw a tall man in a suit with glasses and dark hair standing on the other side. "Hi," he said. "My name is Chris Porter and I'm the lawyer for the Forbes family. May I come in?"

"Please," Klaus said. "Come in."

Chris cleared his throat and stepped inside, studying Klaus for a second. "Now who are you?" He asked. "Are you the man who purchased this house with cash from one Jack Taylor, Caroline's ex-husband?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Is there a problem?"

Chris nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid there is. Since this house is a Forbes family property, Mr. Taylor was not within his rights to sell it to you. Any deal you made with him is null and void. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to vacate the premises."

Klaus stood in silence for a moment, then turned to yell over his shoulder. "Caroline! There's someone here to see you!"

"Who is it?" Caroline asked. She left the table and came to meet him, her jaw dropping a little at the sight of the lawyer. "Mr. Porter? What are _you_ doing here?"

"Your family found out about Jack selling this place," he said. "And they've decided to take it back, ordering all non-family members off the premises."

"Well, I'm a family member," Caroline said. "I mean, just because my parents were upset when I married Jack, that doesn't mean I'm not family. And using your logic, that means I can stay."

Chris nodded. "You can. But he-" Jack nodded at Klaus. "He cannot."

"Says who?" Caroline asked, shaking out her hair, hands on her hips. "If I can stay here, I say he can and that's final. We're gonna turn this place into a nice hotel. If people don't like it, then that's their problem!"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Chris said. "The deed to the house is still in your family's name. Even though they have no interest in it, they still own it, and you can't do anything with it without their permission."

Caroline's jaw dropped. "I can't?" She asked. "But, but I-"

Klaus watched Caroline's lip quiver and tears threaten to spill from her eyes. He gently took hold of her arm and gestured at a coat closet near the door. "Join me in there, would you?" He asked. "We need to talk."

"In a closet?" Caroline asked. "But _why?_"

"Because for what I'm about to tell you, we need privacy," he said. "Now come along." He nodded at Chris. "If you'll excuse us for a moment, Mr. Porter."

"Of course," Chris nodded. "I know this must be a shock. Please take all the time you need."

Klaus led Caroline into the coat closet and shut the door, making everything dark. "Can you explain to me what we're doing in here?" Caroline asked. "Have you lost your freaking mind?"

"It's time for your first lesson about how to use your vampire abilities," Klaus said.

"Now? No!" Caroline shook her head. "If you want me to bite him, I won't!"

Klaus shook his head. "No, no! Nothing like that. I just think we should compel him."

"Compel...?" Caroline looked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before she said, "Oh, yeah! I remember what that is! I had to do that to a nurse when I first turned. I couldn't have her going around blabbing to everyone that I bit her, now could I?"

"So you're already familiar with compulsion? Good," Klaus said appreciatively. "Do you think you could do it on our friend, Mr. Porter?"

"Well, all right," Caroline said. "I'll try, anyway. I can't guarantee that I'll be successful. I'm a bit rusty."

"Well," Klaus said, "if you try and, for some reason, are not successful, don't worry. I'll right things for you."

"Okay," Caroline nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Now, we should probably leave this dark closet before _you_ start getting ideas."

"What?" Klaus asked. "What do you mean before _I_ start getting ideas? I saw how you were looking at me the other day when I wasn't wearing a shirt."

Caroline scoffed. "That? Oh, that was _nothing_!"

"Was too," Klaus said. "You liked what you saw, admit it!"

"I will admit that you are pleasing to look at in a purely aesthetic sense," Caroline said. "But other than that..." She trailed off and started walking away from him a little faster. He ran to catch up with her. "Other than that...what?"

"Other than that, I'm choosing not to give an opinion," Caroline said simply. "Now, we have more important things to concentrate on, _remember_?"

"You're right," Klaus said. When they reached Chris, Klaus turned Caroline around so that she was facing him. "Go ahead and say what you want to say, Caroline," he said encouragingly, making note to himself that she _still_ looked as good from the back as she did from the front.

Caroline cleared her throat and locked eyes with Chris. "You have done whatever it is you came here to do, and you have no reason to come back. Ever. No matter what anyone from my family says at any time."

"Yes," Chris nodded. He dropped a manilla envelope on the floor and walked to the door, leaving and closing it behind him without another word.

When she heard the door click, Caroline breathed a sigh of relief. "That was _close!_" She exclaimed. "Do you realize that if you and I weren't vampires we probably would have lost this place?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes. Do you suppose any more of your family members will show up here and try to take it back?"

Caroline shrugged. "Who knows? But we should probably plan for the worst." She looked down and picked up the envelope. "He dropped this when he left. I wonder what it is?" She opened it and gasped. "It's an order that says we have to leave the house otherwise we're gonna be arrested!"

"Give me that!" Klaus said. He took the envelope and the paper and ripped them both into confetti. "There," he said. "Now we don't have to go because there _is_ no order."

Caroline sighed. "I'm starting to feel kind of bad about this," she said. "I never realized before that we might be doing something illegal, but-"

"Caroline," Klaus said, "look around you. Who has put in the effort to fix up this place? Who is dusting and scrubbing and sweeping every day? Who is going to make this place shine again and put it to good use? Your relatives?"

"No," Caroline said quietly, not looking at him. "We are."

Klaus put his hand under her chin so that she was looking him in the eye. "Say that again," he said. "Only this time with feeling. And smile."

A smile broke out on Caroline's face. "We are!" She said brightly.

"Exactly!" Klaus said. " That's the spirit! I don't see why your relatives should get to keep this place when you and I are doing all the work to make it presentable. Even Chris said they don't give a damn about it anymore."

Caroline sighed. "I guess you're right and if anyone else comes, we'll have to fight them off. Show them that just because a person's name is on a deed, that doesn't mean they deserve a place. Though hopefully we won't have anymore trouble. Gosh, I hope not."

* * *

But a couple of days later, a car drove up just before lunchtime. "There are people outside," Caroline said to Klaus. "I think it might be more of my relatives."

"Wonderful," Klaus said. "You remember the plan. Compel them to leave or kill them if compulsion doesn't work."

"I don't see any reason why we have to go that far," Caroline said. "For god's sake, they're people! And we were people too, once."

They headed to the front door to let the people in when they heard a woman's loud voice float through the open window. "It's a real eyesore, isn't it?" She asked. "I can't wait to get this place bulldozed and build something completely new. Maybe a supermarket, or a nightclub."

"Stupid woman," Klaus muttered. "You can't build a nightclub on this spot."

"They couldn't build a nightclub here," a thin man in gray said, coming to stand next to the woman. "I guess we'll just have to settle for a bigger house."

Upon hearing these comments, Caroline's eyes narrowed. "I take that back. They aren't people and they must be destroyed! So what if this house needs a little work? It's a nice house!"

"Why don't you let them in and tell them that?" Klaus said, giving her a nudge toward the door.

"You bet I will," Caroline said. Klaus opened the door and she strode out to meet the couple, who were still standing and chatting on the front lawn. When they saw her coming toward them, the chatter stopped, as if someone had thrown a switch. "Who are you?" The woman asked, outraged. "How dare you invade our house!"

"You don't even care about the house!" Caroline yelled. "All you want to do is tear it down!"

"And we are within our rights to do that, young lady," the man said. "We have a court order. A lawyer must've come and given it to you."

"No," Caroline shook her head. "It must've gotten lost or something. But why don't you come in and we'll discuss this like calm, rational people?"

The couple eyed her suspiciously but followed her into the house anyway. "Look who came to visit us?" Caroline said when she saw Klaus. "I'll go and see if I can't find some refreshments."

"How nice to have visitors!" Klaus said as he hurried the couple to chairs. "My wife and I are so pleased to be able to show off our new home!"

Caroline froze and turned around slowly. "Wife?" She asked. "What?"

"Remember, darling?" Klaus said. "We're married?"

There was a moment of silence before Caroline said. "Oh, yes, sweetheart! Silly me! I was drunk at the wedding, which was fairly recently. Sometimes I just forget."

The woman was looking a tad horrified, so Caroline said, "Why don't I get some lemonade and we can talk? Would that be all right?"

"Wonderful," the man said.

"Do you need some help, love?" Klaus asked.

"Sure," Caroline nodded. "Why not?"

They walked into the kitchen together and once they were out of the other couple's earshot, Caroline frowned at Klaus. "What's all this bull about you and I being married?"

"Well, you said you didn't want your family to be hurt and I'm trying something out on them," Klaus said. "Maybe if they think we're a productive young couple, they'll be more willing to hand over this place without a fight. It's brilliant, isn't it?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "It's a big fat lie!"

"You could do worse than me, you know that right?" Klaus asked.

"Not only do I know that, I _have_ done worse than you," Caroline reminded him. "Remember Jack?"

"Oh, yes," Klaus said with a grin. "That delightfully deceitful man who brought us together. When we get married, we should really send him thank you flowers."

Caroline grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and four glasses, put them on a tray, and handed the tray to Klaus. "Here," she said. "Take it into them, will you?"

Klaus brought the lemonade into the living room and sat it down. "Would anyone care for a glass?" He asked.

"I'll take one," the man said.

"Me too," the woman added. They took their lemonades and then the man said, "Sally, we've been so remiss we haven't even introduced ourselves. I'm Daniel Forbes and this is my wife Sally."

"I assume you already know who we are," Caroline said.

Sally nodded. "Yes, we do. Now, onto what we came in to discuss. We have plans for this house, and rather you've seen it or not, we got an order signed by a judge that says Jack Taylor was wrong to sell this house to you and that you are to leave."

"Oh, but see we have plans for this house too, my wife and I," Klaus said. "We're fixing it up and we plan to turn it into a nice hotel. All you're going to do is tear it down. So, using that logic, let's see who's a more fitting couple to be here? I would say it's Caroline and me, don't you think? But if you'd like to stay here, I'm sure we can find a way to work that out."

"We can?" Caroline asked.

"We're gonna need a bellhop and a housekeeper for the hotel, aren't we?" Klaus asked out of the corner of his mouth without looking at her. "This way, we won't even have to pay them."

"Wow," Caroline said in surprise. "That is a _very_ good idea!"

"Now," Klaus said to the man, "You cook us some lunch." As the man walked off, he looked at the woman. "And you play us some nice music on the piano while we eat."

The woman sat at the piano and started playing. Klaus sighed in satisfaction and smiled at Caroline. "Could I interest you in a glass of lemonade?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Sure." He poured her a glass and then poured a glass for himself. "I propose a toast," he said. "To the success of our business and any other joint ventures we might pursue in the future."

"Cheers," Caroline agreed, clinking her glass against his. "But just to be clear, that thing with you and me being married was just a ploy to trick these people, right? You promise you aren't gonna spread it around?"

"I'll try not to, but if we ever need to appear more family friendly, I could mention it from time to time," Klaus said. "But that's all, I swear. I won't be sneaking into your room at night and climbing into bed with you or anything." And then they said at the same time..."_yet_."


	6. I Believe in Fairy Tales

Caroline was returning home from the grocery store when she noticed a strange car in the driveway and and older woman staring in the door. "Excuse me," she called out, getting out of her car and coming toward the older woman. "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, yes," the woman nodded, coming toward her. "My name is Marjorie Davis and I was just looking for the couple that live in this house. I understand they're new."

"Yes," Caroline nodded. "We are." She held out her hand. "My name's Caroline Forbes. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Marjorie shook her hand. "You seem like a perfectly lovely young woman. Where's your husband? I would love to meet him."

"My husband? You mean Klaus?" Caroline shook her head. "He's not my husband. He's more like my business partner. We're not married."

"And yet you live together?" Marjorie's eyes were as big as saucers. "That's nice, I suppose. Are you planning on getting married soon?"

Caroline shook her head. "No. We're not engaged. We haven't even talked about dating yet."

"Well I suggest you do," Marjorie said. "We're a respectable neighborhood and we don't need people 'shacking up' around here."

"Well, all right," Caroline said, her eyes wide. "Geez."

"Not to sound judgmental, dear," Marjorie said, patting her on the arm. "I only say what I say because I want you to be successful. And you won't be if people think you're leading a life that's less than traditional. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Caroline nodded. "Yes, I understand completely. You've made yourself very clear on the subject."

A grin relaxed Marjorie's somewhat harsh features. "I can't wait for the two of you to get married. Invite me to the wedding, would you?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "Sure." Marjorie toddled off and drove away. Once she was gone, Caroline picked up the groceries from the ground where she'd put them while talking to Marjorie and made her way to the house. "_Sure_, I'll invite you to my fake wedding, you miserable, judgmental old bat!" She was so incensed by the older woman's remarks that she pulled the front door handle a little harder than she meant to and it came off in her hand.

"Great," Caroline muttered. "Just great."

At that moment, Klaus drove up. "What are you standing out here for?"

She held out the door handle. "Because of this," she said and sighed. "And a few other things."

"Has something happened?" He asked her. "What's happened?"

"Oh, nothing," Caroline said. "It's just that this horrible woman stopped by and asked me if you and I were planning on getting married soon cause if we didn't, then people would think we were shacking up and that would make them hate us."

"First the lawyer and your relatives and now this," Klaus said. He stood in silence a moment, then brightened. "Well, at least this one is easy to fix," he said. "We'll put the groceries away, and then get married."

"Wait," Caroline said. "What? You're not actually suggesting we do what she says, are you?"

"Why is that such a problem?" Klaus asked her. "When we put the show on for your relatives, you didn't seem to mind!"

"Yes, well that was different!" Caroline said. "We were just pretending! Now you're actually suggesting we go through with it for real!"

"You told me that was what the woman wanted," Klaus said. "That she told you it would be best for business if we got married."

"Well, yes, but...can't we just call her over here a few days from now and compel her to think we were _already_ married?" Caroline pointed out. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

A slow grin spread over Klaus' lips. "Well, my goodness," he said. "I think I've created a monster. Are you going to start using compulsion to solve all your problems now that I've told you it's all right?"

"Well, no!" Caroline said. "But in this case, I think it would be the best thing to do."

"Maybe," Klaus said. "But really, it wouldn't be as much fun, would it?"

Caroline shook her head. "But this isn't about fun!" She said. "It's about business. Just like our entire relationship!"

"What do I have to do?" He asked her. "What do I have to do to get you to say 'yes' about fake marrying me?"

Caroline shook her head. "There's nothing you can say or do that will make me say 'yes' to it. It's just too weird!"

"You told me you were committed to the business," he said. "You told me you would do whatever you had to in order to assure its success. I guess you aren't as committed as you thought."

"When I said I was committed, I thought that meant scrubbing toilets and killing roaches, not fake marrying you so a bunch of judgmental people will accept our business!" Caroline exclaimed.

Klaus shrugged. "Well, now you know that that's what being committed means," he said. "So it's up to you, really. But let's think about the reason why we originally entered into this arrangement. "You owe your landlord a thousand dollars, which at the present time, you yourself cannot pay, and since you didn't let me cover the cost for you, you have to find another way to get the funds. We were going to use the hotel, but without our wedding, there won't _be _any hotel, so..." he heaved an exaggerated sigh, took the groceries from her and went inside, leaving Caroline alone in the driveway.

She stood still for a moment and then chewed on her nail. "What have I gotten myself into?" She asked herself. She shook her head and went inside. Klaus just frowned at her, shook his head and continued loading stuff into the refrigerator.

"Look," Caroline told him. "I know you're mad at me about this whole marriage thing, okay? And I understand why you want to do it. It's really sensible actually, but I just, I can't get married again so soon after Jack. I can't give up the freedom I gave up everything for."

Klaus shut the refrigerator door. "Jack really put you through the ringer, didn't he?" He asked. "He must've, or you wouldn't be so terrified now. But remember, all of this, what we're going to do, it's not real. You're not really giving up anything. You're just gaining a business and a route to financial independence."

Caroline looked into his earnest face and decided that, in spite of how weird it made her feel, she would agree to fake marry Klaus, just for the sake of the business. "All right," she nodded. "Let's get ourselves fake married! And we should probably go find the deed to the house, too. We need to do everything we can to make this appear legitimate."

Just then, there was another knock on the front door. "I wonder who that is?" Klaus asked.

"I think I know," Caroline said, taking his hand. "Come with me for a minute." She led him to the front door. Sure enough, Marjorie was standing outside and again, peering in the window.

"Who's that?" Klaus asked.

"She's a neighbor," Caroline said. "Her name is Marjorie. She's the one who suggested we get married." She opened the door and let Marjorie come inside. "How wonderful to see you again," she said. "Did you come back because you saw that my soon to be husband had returned home and you wanted to meet him?"

"Oh," Marjorie said in surprise. "That was fast. When we spoke the first time, you told me that the two of you hadn't even discussed dating, let alone getting engaged. And that wasn't even an hour ago."

Caroline shrugged. "Well, he's nice enough, and as you pointed out, it would be much better for business if we made our relationship official, so I figured 'what the heck?'"

"I hope you'll be very happy together," Marjorie said.

"Oh, we will be," Caroline said, and to Klaus' surprise, she kissed him. Deeply, running her hand down his back and giving his butt a squeeze. But soon, he relaxed into the kiss and took control of it, his hands going all over her body, as he kept an eye on Marjorie's shocked face.

"Well!" Marjorie exclaimed, blustering, her face turning purple. "Well, I never! Of all the nerve!" She turned on her heel and strode out, keeping her eyes forward. Once Klaus and Caroline heard the door close, they pulled apart.

"Well," Klaus said, "That was unexpected."

Caroline grinned. "I just wanted to stir her up a little. How'd she look?"

"She was a very deep shade of purple that clashed magnificently with that horrible orange dress she was wearing," Klaus said, a twinkle in his eye. "Is that the sort of reaction you wanted?"

"Yes," Caroline giggled. "Yes, it was. And now she hates us, so at least we won't have to invite her to our fake wedding. She insisted! Can you believe the nerve of her?!"

"Well, some people just have a terrible habit of getting into other people's business. It's how they are," Klaus said. "They can't help themselves."

Caroline nodded. "I know. That's me. But at least when _I _involve myself in other people's business, I do so with good intentions. She was just being annoying." They lapsed into silence and looked at one another for a second or two before Caroline said, "You know, you're not a bad kisser."

"I could say the same to you," Klaus replied. "It was a good thing we found this out before we got married."

"Yeah," Caroline replied with a grin. "I guess. So do you want to go get the deed to the house and _then_ go find a judge, or do you want to go find a judge and _then_ get the deed to the house?"

"Well," Klaus said, "based on the kind words of Mrs. Kravitz, it might be best for us to go find a judge and _then_ go get the deed to the house. After all, we don't want to offend the traditional sensibilities of these very kind people by 'shacking up' longer than we have to."

"Yeah, right," Caroline smirked. "Of course we don't."

"So are we going then?" Klaus asked.

"Well, not right away," Caroline said. "There's something I have to do first." She ran upstairs and grabbed one of her new dresses, a short one in light pink, put it on, put up her hair, and then came back downstairs.

"You look incredible," Klaus said.

Caroline grinned. "Well, thank you. Even though we're only being fake married, I want to look my best."

"I'll go change too," Klaus said. He went upstairs and came back a short while later in a black sport coat, slacks, and a tie that matched Caroline's dress. "So," he said, holding his arm out. "Now do you think we're ready to be married?"

"Yes," Caroline nodded. "I think we are."

When they reached the courthouse and strode inside, they discovered they were just one of many people waiting in a long line to get married.

"This is going to take a long time," Klaus said. He looked at Caroline. "And are you sure this is what you want? It's not very romantic, is it?"

"Well, no," Caroline said, but-"

"Well, that settles that, then," he said and took her hand, leading her out of the courthouse. "Even though we're only getting fake married, I want it to be memorable for us."

"Well, then what do you suggest we do?" Caroline asked.

"Let's go back home and ask Sally and Daniel where the deed is, get it, and then I will run down to my office and make all the fake wedding arrangements," Klaus said.

"When you do that, don't do anything _too_ spectacular," Caroline said to him. "Do you promise?"

"Do something spectacular when I'm getting married? Me?" Klaus asked, indicating himself. "I would _never_."

* * *

"Why do I have to close my eyes?" Caroline asked as Klaus led her out of the house a week later on the day he'd told her they were getting married.

"Because if they aren't closed, the surprise will be ruined," Klaus said. He stopped next to the horse-drawn carriage, picked her up and set her in it, then climbed in to sit next to her. The horse gave a whinny and stomped and then the carriage jolted into motion.

"Is that a horse?!" Caroline asked. "Why do I hear a horse?!"

"Because we're sitting in a horse drawn carriage," Klaus said. "That's why you hear a horse. Now don't you open your eyes. Otherwise the surprise will be ruined."

"There's more?!" Caroline asked. "The horse-drawn carriage isn't the surprise? You promised me you wouldn't do anything spectacular!"

"Rule one about living with me, love," Klaus told her, "is that occasionally I tell fibs. Now is one of those times."

"What else are we doing?!" Caroline asked. She took her hand away from her eyes and Klaus covered them again. "You'll see," he said. "You'll just have to trust me!"

The carriage took them from town to town for about two hours until they arrived at a castle, an actual, honest-to-god castle. When the carrigae stopped, the driver said, "Here you are, sir."

"Thank you," Klaus told him and lifted Caroline to the ground. "Can I open my eyes yet?" She asked.

"Yes," he said. "You can open your eyes."

"Oh, my god," Caroline said when she saw the building before her. "I must be hallucinating. Is that a castle?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded, enjoying her stunned look. "Welcome to Krueger Castle."

Caroline's mouth was opening and closing rapidly. "I didn't even know there _were_ castles in America!" she said.

"Well, sometimes eccentric immigrants with lots of money get homesick and there you go," Klaus said. "Just tell me when you're finished staring at it and we'll go inside."

Caroline stared at the castle for several minutes more and then said, "Okay, I'm ready to go gawk at the inside now."

Klaus offered her his arm and they walked inside, being met at the door by a young woman in a scarlet suit. "Hello, Mr. Mikaelson," she said to him.

"Hello, Sarah," he said to her.

"Congratulations on your big day," Sarah continued. "It's an honor to be part of your wedding." She looked at Caroline. "And this must be your bride!"

Caroline nodded. "I'm Caroline," she said. "I didn't expect him to bring me to a castle. I'm still trying to take it all in."

Sarah nodded. "It's understandable. Feel free to look around and when you've had your fill of that, come back and get me and we'll get things under way."

They wandered around for a bit and Caroline said, "It has all the original furnishings, right?"

"Some are reproductions, but they keep things as original as they possibly can," he said. He took her into the sitting room, where there sat a Louis XIV chair on one side by itself. "Have a seat," he said.

Caroline looked down hesitantly and said, "It's an antique. I don't know if I should. It _is_ an antique, right?"

"Well, yes," Klaus nodded. "But I assure you that Sarah won't mind if you sit in it anyway."

Caroline slowly lowered herself onto the chair and crossed her legs. "This feels so weird," she said. "The way the room is set up, I feel like I'm sitting on a throne or something."

"Well, what kind of a castle would it be if there wasn't a chair that made you feel like that?" Klaus asked her.

Caroline reveled in the power of the chair for a few minutes and then stood up. "Let's go find Sarah," she said.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "We're staying for a few days, so it's not like we won't have time to explore more later."

This statement caused Caroline to nearly lose her balance and when Klaus managed to get her upright again, they went looking for Sarah.

"So you're ready now?" She asked. "Right this way!" She led them to what had once been the castle's ballroom. A tall woman in robes approached them. "Hello," she said. "I'm Justice Andrews. Congratulations. Now, hold onto each others' hands."

Klaus and Caroline stood in front of each other and gazed into one another's eyes as Justice Andrews said what she had to in order for them to be married. Caroline didn't hear much except "blah, blah, blah, do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband, blah, blah, blah you may kiss the bride." She knew it was way too soon for her to admit she was in love with him, but the fact that he'd taken her to get married in a castle was step one on the path to admitting it. In the past, she'd been lucky if Jack had even taken her to the drive-through at McDonald's.

As she and Klaus pulled apart, she thought to herself, I know that there's no such thing at happily ever after, and Klaus is _not_ a prince charming, but here I am, in a castle, and I think, just for today, I'll let myself believe in fairy tales.


	7. Strange Things Happen In The Dark

That night, Caroline decided to address the question that she knew was on both of their minds. "So," she said. "Are you thinking that we should sleep together or separately?"

Klaus gave her a grin, running his fingers through her hair. "Well, it _is_ our wedding night, love, and that usually means that we stay together, doesn't it? I'm up for it if you are."

"Actually, I'm not," Caroline said, moving his hand and shaking her head. "This is just a fake marriage and we're not gonna do anything that would make it seem real, okay?"

"Oh, come on!" Klaus said. "After all I've done for you? How I brought you to a nice castle and we had a horse and carriage ride and everything. Don't I get points for that?"

"Well, if you only did it so I would play wedding night with you, than no," Caroline said.

Klaus grinned and shook his head. "All right," he said. "Whatever you say. But remember that my door is always open."

"All right," Caroline nodded. "I'll remember that. And before I go tuck myself in, I want to say 'thank you' for today. It was really nice. And that if you just give me time, I will show up at your door. I promise."

Klaus nodded. "All right," he said. "I'll be waiting for you with open arms."

Caroline smiled and walked away. "Open arms and an open zipper," she muttered to herself.

Klaus sped over to her and pulled her to himself. "If that's what you want, all you have to do is ask," he said. "I know that kiss we did in front of Marjorie wasn't just for show. I could feel it."

"Yes it was for show!" Caroline said. "I just wanted to see the look on her face!"

"Oh, I'm sure that was the only reason why you did what you did," Klaus said. "Not because ever since you saw me without a shirt, you've entertained certain thoughts about me that you don't think I know."

"Oh, yeah?" Caroline asked. "Well, you've had thoughts about me too!"

"Yes, I have," Klaus nodded. "I admit that openly. I admit that when you were fixing the sink and your shirt was hiked up a little high, I thought about touching your skin just to see how soft it was. I might have even actually done it. The whole incident is a little hazy now. And the first night we moved in here and you realized you didn't have any extra pajamas to sleep in? I bet that night, you slept better than I did."

"Wait," Caroline said. "You spent your entire first night at our house thinking about me _naked_?"

"Don't think of it that way," Klaus said. "Think of it as, 'I spent the whole first night at our house being concerned that you were cold and sad that there wasn't really anything I could do about it'."

"I didn't actually sleep naked, you know," she said. "I kept my clothes on. So your 'concern' was unnecessary." She paused and sighed. "We're not really going anywhere with this conversation," she said. "I'll go find Sarah or whoever and ask them to show me to my room."

"Naturally you aren't going to have a separate room," Klaus said. "They think we're actually married and it's going to seem a little odd if you ask for a separate room just hours after our wedding."

"I'll think of a way to get my own room," Caroline said. "Believe you me, you and I will not spend the night together!"

"Yet," Klaus reminded her.

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "Yet." She strode off to find Sarah or anyone at all who could help her find another room. She found Sarah's office and knocked on the door. Sarah looked up. "Oh, hello," she said, coming to greet Caroline. "How is your room? Is everything all right?"

"Actually, no," Caroline said. "It really pains me to ask you this, but I was wondering if I could have a room separate from my husband's."

"But why would you want that?" Sarah asked. "It's your wedding night!"

Caroline nodded. "I know that, but see, he snores and it's just easier for both of us if we have separate spaces when we sleep."

"Oh," Sarah blinked. "But won't the two of you be so tired by tomorrow morning that none of that will matter?"

Caroline shut her eyes tight, took a deep breath, and locked eyes with Sarah, "I'm really sorry about this, but you _will _have to find me a different room. You will be happy to."

Sarah nodded. "I will find you another room. I'd be happy to."

"That's better," Caroline said. But as Sarah was leading her to another room, they ran into Klaus, who was looking for a second pillow.

"What's going on here?" He asked.

"Sarah agreed to get me another room," Caroline said. "So that's where we're going."

"Wait a minute," Klaus said and held Sarah still so he could get a good look into her eyes. "Did you compel her?"

"I _had_ to!" Caroline said. "I was making a perfectly simple request and she wasn't listening!"

Klaus just shook his head. "Compelling your family and the lawyers is one thing. They were interfering in your ability to live your life. But to do it to Sarah, who's never meant you any harm, that's not right, and I think you know that, don't you?"

Caroline felt herself flush a little. "Yes," she said. "I guess." She looked at Sarah. "You remember nothing," she said. "Go home and have a good evening."

Sarah nodded and walked away, leaving Caroline alone with Klaus. "If it means so much to you to be alone tonight that you're willing to manipulate innocent people to get your way, then I guess I have no choice but to let you do as you wish and have your own room. Good night," Klaus said and strode off, leaving Caroline alone.

Caroline stood in embarrassed silence for a moment before she began wandering around the rooms, looking for one with an empty bed. When she found one, she climbed into the bed, tucked herself in and tried to fall asleep. But shame made her restless and finally she decided to walk around for a little bit, to try and calm her nerves. She had just intended to circle the room, but then she walked to the door, grabbed the handle and threw it open, walking into the dark hallway, the floor cold on her bare feet.

She waited the few seconds it took for her eyes to adjust to the almost total darkness of the hallway. She walked around aimlessly, not quite ready to face up to what she knew she had to do in order to get a good night's sleep. The open windows let in moonlight and the warm night air, which caught hold of the skirt of her long white nightgown and sent it floating around her. Suddenly, a bright light met her eyes and she let out a hiss. The light was pulled back to reveal a badly frightened security guard. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said. "I wasn't expecting you to be up and about. You scared the life out of me there. I thought you was a spirit."

"Sorry," Caroline said. "But I couldn't sleep, so I got up to walk around and now I'm lost. Could you take me to my husband's room? Did Sarah tell you what room she put him in?"

The security guard shook his head. "No, she didn't, ma'am, but I bet I can take you to him anyway. Come with me."

"Oh, thank you," Caroline said, following him. "And again, I apologize for frightening you."

He shrugged. "It's all right," he said. "It's not the first time in a creaky old place like this." He led her to a wing of rooms and they walked down a hallway that had doors on either side. The guard stopped at the last door on the right side. "This is the room that Sarah usually puts married couples in, so my guess would be that your husband is in here," he said. "Good night, ma'am."

Caroline nodded. "Goodnight," she said to him. She opened the door, praying that the hinges wouldn't squeak or nothing else would happen to betray her presence, and she tiptoed into the room and boosted herself into the very high bed, then looked at Klaus, who was sleeping. The moonlight illuminated his face and a small bit of hair that had fallen into his eyes. Caroline moved the hair back and then when she pushed back the covers to get herself underneath them, she got an eyeful of Klaus' body, which was naked under the blankets. Slowly, she reached out to stroke him. He let out a moan and as his eyes were about to open, she let him go and tried to turn away so that he wouldn't be able to look into her eyes, but he grabbed her anyway and put her underneath him.

"Well, well, well," he said. "Look who's sleeping in _my_ bed." He grinned toothily at her and pulled her nightgown up to her waist, exposing her panties. She felt hardness against the inside of her leg. "I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away."

"Oh, would you just shut up and kiss me already?" She asked. "I don't think we need to mull over why I came in here and I_ definitely _don't need to hear any smart ass comments about how you guilted me into it or whatever. I just want-" She was cut off as Klaus' mouth descended on hers and she felt cool air cover her body as he pulled off her nightgown and threw it on the floor, followed by her panties. Sarah was right, Caroline decided as Klaus kissed up her inner thigh. She definitely wouldn't have any trouble sleeping tomorrow.


	8. Looking For Beauty

"Morning!" Klaus said. Caroline turned over. "Oh, hello," she said.

"So what happens now?" He asked. "Are you going to kick me in the head and run out of here acting like last night never happened?"

Caroline sat up. "Now why would I do that?" She asked.

Klaus shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems like standard protocol."

She grinned. "May I remind you that it was I who came to _you_ last night? If I wasn't planning on acknowledging it this morning, I never would have done it. But don't expect it all the time now that we've already done it once. This was kind of special."

Klaus grinned. "Well, I hope so."

They sat in silence a moment and then Caroline said, "do you think they're gonna expect us to stay in bed all day? 'Cause I'd really like to look around a lot more. Maybe it'll give us ideas for when _we_ finally get things put in order and open."

"Ugh," Klaus lay back on the bed. "This is our _honeymoon_! Why do we have to think about work?"

"Because we still have lots to do!" Caroline said. "And we can have fun at the same time. It won't be horrible. You can stay here, but I'm getting dressed and looking around."

"Aye-aye Mary Poppins," Klaus said.

Caroline rolled her eyes and then gave him a look. "Would you look the other way, please? I have to get out of bed and I won't do it if I know you're looking at me!"

Klaus grinned, one side of his mouth up. "You weren't so modest last night."

"I know," Caroline said, "but still, please? Just shut your eyes and I'll tell you when you can look."

"You know," he said, not looking away at all, "it's so sad when a woman like you is ashamed of her body. I think you have a great body."

"I'm not ashamed of my body," Caroline said.

"So you're ashamed of what we did last night?" Klaus asked. "If it was gonna bother you so much in the morning, then why did you do it?"

"Stop putting words in my mouth," Caroline said. "I'm not ashamed of myself or you or what we did last night. I don't think you and I are at the point where I'm comfortable with you seeing me naked for no reason." She paused. "Would you mind getting my nighgown and throwing it to me?" She asked.

"Oh-ho," Klaus grinned. "I get what you're trying to do. You just want me to get out of bed because you know I have nothing on either and you want to look. well, tough. If you're too modest to get out of bed, then so am I."

"I don't think_ anyone_ could call you a modest person," Caroline said. "Or at least I wouldn't. Now, one of us is going to have to leave this bed eventually."

"Why?" Klaus asked, running his fingers through her hair. "No one _said_ we had to."

"I know," Caroline said. "But if I don't accomplish at least one thing, than the whole day will seem wasted. So you get your extremely muscular, well-built body out of bed and hand me my nightgown!"

"All right, fine," he said. "I'll play along." He threw the covers aside and when he could feel her eyes on him, he got out of bed. He didn't look at her, but trekked over to the spot where her nightgown had landed and picked it up. Then he turned to face her, shaking it a little. "All right," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Come and get it."

"No," Caroline shook her head. "The agreement was that you would _hand _it to me." She was amazed she could even speak coherent thoughts, let alone still find it within herself to be mad at him, but she was.

"Well, I decided to change the rules," Klaus said, stroking the sleeve of the nightgown, which smelled like her perfume. "If you want this, you're going to have to come and get it yourself."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "You're really unbelievable, you know that?" She asked him.

Klaus grinned. "Why thank you," he said. "How kind of you to notice."

Caroline shut her eyes, took a deep breath and got out of bed, strode over to him and grabbed the sleeve of the nightgown that he wasn't already holding. "Give it to me!" She demanded.

But Klaus kept a firm hold on the other sleeve and soon they were pulling the gown from one of them to the other. Finally, Klaus pulled just a little harder and brought her to him. "Looks like I win this little game of tug of war," he said. "What's my prize?"

Caroline shook her head. "I wasn't playing," she said. "I just wanted my damn nightgown!"

Klaus let her go. "Oh, come on!" he complained. "Where's your sense of humor?"

"In my clothes," Caroline replied dryly. "No clothes, no sense of humor."

"Fine," Klaus said and threw her the nightgown. "But you know, it wouldn't hurt you to lighten up a little."

Caroline put on her nightgown and then walked over and kissed him. "There," she said. "Better?"

"Eh," Klaus said. "Not all the way, but it's a start."

"Good," Caroline nodded. "Now I'm going to shower. You can go after me."

"All right," Klaus nodded. Caroline made her way into the bathroom and when she realized Klaus was behind her, she turned around. "What are you doing in here?"

"You said I could come in the bathroom after you and that's what I'm doing," he said.

"I _meant_ that you could come in after I was finished," Caroline clarified. "Unless you'd like to shower first. I didn't mean to just claim the shower first without asking you. And you _are_ already undressed." Her eyes roamed over him.

"I'll tell you what," Klaus said. "Let's just shower together. It would save time and then we can get right down to accomplishing whatever useful thing you say you want to accomplish."

Caroline nodded. "Well, all right," she said. "If it'll save time."

Klaus turned the water on while Caroline removed her nightgown. He got in the shower first and then gave her his hand and helped her in. They washed each other off, and although the plan was for the shower to be efficient, they, of course, got distracted and by the time they got out, Caroline was sure there was no more warm water left in the place.

"We shouldn't have stayed in for so long," she said as she toweled off her hair. "Now everyone else is gonna have to shower in cold water because of us."

"What 'everyone else'?" Klaus asked. "You and I are the only overnight guests here."

"But when I came to find you last night, the nice security guard I talked to made it seem like people stay here frequently," Caroline said.

Klaus nodded. "They do," he said. "But I thought it would be nicer if we had the place to ourselves. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "It's good. it means I won't have to stand around forever waiting to get a look at those tapestries in the dining room while a bunch of tourists in bermuda shorts and birkenstocks take pictures of them with flash cameras." She left the bathroom and got dressed, coming back to Klaus a few minutes later, wearing jeans and a red shirt. "I was gonna wear a dress," she said. "But then I'd have to ask you to zip me up and I wouldn't want us to get distracted."

"No, we don't," he said. "At least not right now. There's plenty of time to be distracted later on." They left their room and ran into Sarah. "Good morning," she said. "Well, I guess it's almost noon, but I was just coming to see if there was anything I could do for the two of you."

"Could you give us a tour?" Caroline asked. "We're gonna start up our own hotel soon and I would really like to get a look at some of the tapestries and the stained glass windows."

"Of course," Sarah nodded. "Follow me." She led them to the library where two whole walls were taken up by colorful stain glass windows. "Wow," Caroline said, walking over to them. "I had no idea they had stuff like this in buildings that weren't churches."

"Well, Mr. Grennish, who originally owned the house, spent a lot of time in Rome and on one trip, he brought the windows back, allegedly from a convent that was in a state of disrepair and on the verge of being abandoned. He didn't tell anyone that he took them, because he knew that it wouldn't be allowed and he wanted them so badly."

"So these are _stolen_?" Caroline asked, her eyes wide. "Wow!"

Klaus nodded. "Doesn't surprise me at all. Usually the most beautiful things _are_ forbidden. Mr. Grennish was no different from any other man. He saw something beautiful that he wanted and he took it."

"Yes, and our night watchmen says that sometimes, the nuns come back for the windows and roam the halls at night," Sarah said.

"Do you believe that?" Caroline asked.

Sarah shook her head. "Not really. But it's an interesting bit of lore to pass around, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Caroline said, stepping away from the windows and backing right into Klaus, who grabbed her upper arms. "Oh!" she said, turning around. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."

"Oh, it's no problem," he said.

"And this library is full of first editions," Sarah said. "Ironic that it should be the place that's haunted because Mr. Grennish just loved a good ghost story. He picked up lots of Poe, especially. He was a great admirer of the man."

"'Once upon a midnight dreary, as I pondered, weak and weary, over a quaint and curious book of forgotten lore'..." Caroline began, reciting the Raven.

"As I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly, there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door," Klaus continued.

"'Tis some visitor, I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door'" Sarah finished. "'Only this and nothing more'."

They stood in silence a moment and then Sarah cleared her throat. "Let's go to the music room," she said, looking at Caroline. "You _did_ say you wanted to see the tapestries, right?"

Caroline nodded. "Yes, I do." As they followed Sarah down the hallway, Klaus said, "How do you think people would react if we advertised _we_ had a ghost?"

"Well, we might," Caroline told him. "I've never seen one, but it's an old house and remember I said that I would do some research about that?"

"I forgot," Klaus said. "But I still think it's a good idea."

They reached the music room and while Sarah and Caroline discussed the tapestries, Klaus sat down at the piano and played a little bit. When they heard him, the women turned. "Sorry," he said. "I'll stop."

"No," Caroline shook her head. "You play beautifully. Keep going." So Klaus provided background music as Sarah and Caroline discussed the tapestries, and once that was done, Caroline decided to sit down next to Klaus at the piano and make his playing a duet. But at one point, Caroline got so into the song that she began pounding on the keys. Klaus stopped playing gave her a look.

"Pardon my enthusiasm," she said sheepishly.

He grinned. "I like your enthusiasm."

"Sorry the piano is so out of tune," Sarah apologized. "You two are the first to play it in...years."

"Oh, it's fine," Caroline said, getting off the bench. "This really is a beautiful room." The walls were robin's egg blue and the large windows let in the sunlight. There were chairs and sofas all around just waiting for an audience to come and sit in them. "I definitely think we should have a room like this in _our_ hotel."

"You're starting a hotel?" Sarah asked.

Klaus nodded. "Yes. Her husband sold me the house and then she moved in and that's what we decided to do with it. It's much too big for just the two of us."

"Well, do you plan on having children?" Sarah asked.

"We haven't decided yet," Klaus said with a grin. "But we're having fun trying."

Caroline punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he said, but he got the point and said nothing else about their bedroom escapades to Sarah.

Just then, they saw a timid looking man in a suit standing outside the library. "Someone is on the phone asking for you," he said.

"Oh," Sarah said, "Excuse me. I better go answer that."

"Not you," he said to Sarah. "Them." He nodded at Klaus and Caroline.

"Us?" Caroline asked. "Are you sure? Who would want to talk to us?"

"He says his name is Jack," the young man said. "Jack Taylor. Does that name ring a bell?"


	9. The Letter

Caroline froze, staring at the young man. Then she advanced toward him and he backed up. "Hey," he said nervously. "What's the matter with you?"

"Give me the phone," she said. She got closer and closer to him and then he let out a squeak, dropped the phone and ran away. Caroline looked down on it, and picked it up. "Jack," she said, "If this is you, I don't want to talk to you at the moment. Klaus and I are busy and if you'd like to speak with us about something, even though we have no desire to speak to you, you can call us when we come back to the house in a few days. Goodbye." And she turned off the phone before Jack could do more than gasp in surprise.

"I wonder what he wanted?" Caroline said. "He's probably no different from my relatives. He heard that his selling it didn't make me miserable, so now he wants to take it back." She looked at Klaus. "Well, we won't let him, will we?"

Klaus shook his head. "Hell, no."

Sarah held out her hand. "I'll just go hang that up for you, shall I? She asked. "And if he calls again, I'll make sure that whoever answers the phone tells him you're not available."

Klaus nodded. "That would be nice. Thank you, Sarah." She nodded and left them alone.

"So," Caroline said after a moment, "What do you think Jack wanted? Do you think I should have talked to him?"

"No," Klaus answered immediately. "You were right the first time. Whatever he says can wait until we get back home. Heck, maybe we don't have to talk to him even then. Maybe I'll just get Daniel to talk to him for us. I went to all that work to compel them to be our workers. We might as well get some use out of them."

* * *

"So what did she say?" A woman asked Jack when he returned to the the table on the terrace where he and the woman had been sipping white wine.

"Just what I suspected," he said. "She wouldn't talk to me."

"Well, damn," the woman said. "All that effort to find her and you don't even get anything in return."

"I wouldn't quite say that, Melinda," he said to the woman. "She told me that she and Klaus are on vacation and will see me when they get back. It means I have a chance still."

"I don't know," Melinda said. "Maybe I should go instead of you. She _is_ my best friend, after all, and you are her ex. Now, if you were her, whom would you be willing to see?"

"You have a point," Jack said. "Why don't you go? They won't even see you coming."

Melinda nodded. "Sounds like a plan. So, when do I leave?"

"Caroline said that I could come by in 'a couple of days', so let's say that means four just to be safe," Jack told her. "This is Tuesday, so you'll be meeting them on Saturday."

"Right," Melinda nodded. "And what is it exactly that you want me to do when I see them? Try and get the house back?"

"Essentially yes," Jack nodded.

"But _why_?" Melinda asked. "The whole reason why you sold it to Klaus in the first place was that it was a just a big mess. Why the change of heart?"

"It seems like two relatives of Caroline's went to the house to try to get it back from Klaus, since he doesn't actually own it, and they haven't come back yet," Jack said. "That's the seemingly innocent excuse you're going to use to get yourself in there. And then, I want you to do something else for me: I want you to find out exactly what they plan to do with the house, okay? Once you find out, call me and let me know, all right?"

Melinda nodded. "All right, Jack."

* * *

"Do you really think Jack would really try to get the house back after he sold it to you?" Caroline asked as she and Klaus sat on one of the balconies of the castle having an aperitif. "It really surprises me. I thought no one saw any value in it except me."

"To tell you the truth, I never thought much of your ex-husband," Klaus said. "He always struck me as sort of a weasel."

"Just how did the two of you meet again?" She asked and took a sip of her wine.

"We're business acquaintances," Klaus said. "He, as you know, is in real estate and I, when I'm not dreaming about what it would be like to own a hotel with someone as delightful as you, own a real estate furniture business."

"Meaning what?" Caroline asked.

"I buy furniture from the houses of people who have passed away and I sell it to other people," he said.

"So when you bought the house from Jack, you had the same plans for it that he did basically?" Caroline asked. "You were gonna take all the furniture out and then what were you planning to do with the house?"

"I wasn't planning to sell anything from the house actually," Klaus said. "Like I told you, I was planning on living in it and having a rather placid existence until I found you handcuffed to my front door."

"Well, all right then," Caroline asked. "I just asked cause I was curious. I wasn't trying to bite your head off and I'm sorry if it came out that way."

"Has being here given you any ideas about what you want to do with our little place?" He asked her.

"I don't want to change a whole lot," Caroline said. "I mainly just want to do restoration and make it look like it did way back when, you know? I've seen pictures and it was just lovely."

"What else do you know about it?" Klaus asked. "We were talking about ghost stories earlier. Off the top of your head, can you think of anything that could work for our house?"

"Well, you've lived there for a couple of nights," Caroline said. "Have you heard any chains rattling or spooking wailing or anything?"

Klaus shook his head. "But come on. If the house is as old as you say it is, there has to be _something_, doesn't there? Things happen and when things happen, there's always a mark that gets left behind. We just have to figure out what it is." She paused. "I know we still have a couple more days here, but now there's a part of me that just wants to go back to the house and see what we can find!"

"Well, whenever you get too eager, remembering that Jack will be waiting for us when we get back will help you feel better about the present," Klaus said. "And remind you not to wish away good times."

"You have a good point," Caroline said and guzzled down the rest of her wine.

* * *

The rest of the trip went by way too fast and before either Caroline or Klaus knew it, it was the night before they were due to leave.

"I don't want to go," Caroline said as they lay in bed together that night. "This has been too nice. I don't want to leave here and go back to stupid Jack and all his bullshit."

"We can throw him out, remember," Klaus said. "The house is ours, so throwing him out _is _an option."

"Why did I even tell him he could come?" Caroline asked. "God, I am so stupid sometimes!"

Klaus winced. "Caroline, you're tensing up," he said. "You need to _relax._ Why are you still so scared of Jack, anyway? There's really no reason for that."

"I know," Caroline said. "But he just...he had power over me for the longest time and it'll just be a hard habit for me to break, won't it?"

"Not if you compel him to be the man who cleans the toilets," Klaus pointed out. "If you saw him with a scrub brush and some toilet cleaner, then how threatening would he be?"

"Not very," Caroline said. "But if we compelled everyone who stopped by to work for us, we'd get a reputation as the place where people go and don't come back."

"Hey, it worked for 'Hotel California', and it could work for us," Klaus shrugged. "I don't know. I kind of like it."

"No," Caroline shook her head and gave him a peck on the lips. "We're going to run a nice place, not a place that scares people away. I shouldn't have to say that. That should be obvious."

"You know what?" Klaus asked, moving her underneath him, "Why don't we stop talking about this now, and resume talks in the morning? How about that?"

"_Well_," Caroline pretended to think about it. "Okay. I guess I can deal with that." Then she kissed him and the world fell away.

* * *

"I'd say the place looks pretty good," Caroline said with approval a few days later. It was time for Jack to arrive and she had been scrubbing and dusting like a crazy person, making sure the place looked absolutely spotless.

Klaus came in from the yard. "I agree," he said. "We've done a wonderful job." Caroline looked at him. He was wearing a tight black shirt that showed off his muscles. It was covered in sweat.

"You know," Caroline said, "if it wasn't so close to the time that Jack's supposedly coming, I'd suggest we go to the bedroom and reward ourselves for working so hard, but-"

"Would you?" Klaus asked, looking intrigued. "I'm sure that Jack wouldn't mind sparing us a few minutes."

"Just a few?" Caroline asked. "Based on past experience, I don't think you're capable of doing 'just a few'."

Klaus grinned. "Well, it's not what I prefer of course, but if circumstances demand it, then I can make it quick."

"On second thought," Caroline said, smiling coyly. "I don't know if I'm up to it. I mean, look at me. I'm so sweaty and gross and I just-" She was cut off as Klaus sprayed her with the sprayer head for the sink. "There," he said. "Now do you feel cleaner?"

Caroline spat out water that got in her mouth and looked at him in shock. "How dare you!" She said. She then snatched the sprayer out of his hands and sprayed _him_ with it. Water went everywhere and as Caroline ran to try and get out of its range, she slipped on a puddle and Klaus reached out to try and stop her from falling, but she landed on the floor anyway, pulling him down on top of her.

They looked at each other for a long moment and then she moved her head up and covered his mouth in a long kiss, which was broken by the sound of a voice.

"I'm sorry," it said. "I had no idea I'd be interrupting anything."

Caroline looked up at the smartly dressed redhead standing at the edge of the kitchen. "Melinda?" She asked in amazement. She motioned for Klaus to get off her and then ran over to hug her friend that she hadn't seen in years.

"Don't you look good!" Melinda remarked. "It's like you haven't aged a day! You have to tell me what sort of stuff you're using and where I can get my hands on it."

"I'd be more than happy to show her," Klaus said.

Caroline gave him a look.

"And who are you?" Melinda asked. "Don't tell me you're the Klaus Jack told me so much about."

"We were expecting Jack, actually," Caroline said. "He called a few days ago and said he wanted to talk about something, presumably wanting to buy the house back? We planned on telling him no."

"Why?" Melinda asked. "Are you planning on doing something with it?"

"Well, yes, as a matter of fact," Caroline said. "We're planning on making a business out of it. So anything Jack was planning to do will have to wait." She paused. "Wait a minute," she said, her eyes narrowing. "You and Jack are seeing each other. I remember that. It was one of the main reasons for the divorce. Did he send you in his place? What does he want?"

"No he did not send me!" Melinda said defensively. "I came because I wanted to see you and apologize for all the trouble I caused. Is that so unbelievable?"

"Yes," Caroline nodded. "And you can tell Jack that whatever we plan to do with the house is our business and not his, so he can keep his big fat nose out of it unless he wants it broken."

"Well, fine," Melinda told her. "But l just want to let you know that I'm a little hurt. I wanted to make things up to you and be part of your success, but I guess there's just no room for me in your life. And really, things aren't going so well for Jack and me. I lost my job and so I'm dependent on him and I have to do whatever he says or he'll toss me out into the street. You have no idea what that's like!" She burst into tears.

"Come now, love," Klaus said, putting his arms around the distraught woman. "We can make it so you're free of Jack _and _have a job."

"Really?" Melinda asked, looking up at him.

Over her shoulder, Caroline was shaking her head, her eyes wide. "Don't do it," she mouthed. "Don't do it."

But Klaus ignored her. "Really," he said looking at Melinda and pushing hair away from her face. "All you have to do is look into my eyes..."

* * *

"You didn't have to do that," Caroline said.

"Yes, I did!" Klaus said. "Jack sent her to spy and if I just let her be, you would have told her everything!"

"I would not have!" Caroline burst out. "I am actually very good at keeping quiet when I want to be."

"Jack got very sneaky there," Klaus said. "Sending someone to spy on us instead of coming himself. But why? Why would he suddenly be so interested in a house that he sold me for next to nothing?"

"I don't know," Caroline said. "But there has to be some reason. How about you check the basement and I'll check up in the attic and we'll see if between the two of us, we can't come up with just one thing that would make this house interesting to Jack."

"Are you sure you want to be up in the attic alone?" Klaus asked her. "Remember, there are mice up there."

"Well, all right," Caroline said. "You can come up with me. I don't want to be alone with rats."

* * *

"So what is it that we're looking for again?" Klaus asked when he and Caroline reached the attic.

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know. Letters, diaries, a treasure map, anything that would explain why this house would suddenly be interesting to Jack again."

They looked around attic, checking every nook and cranny, but found nothing until Caroline knocked over a small clock. "Oh, my god," she said, picking it up. "I hope I didn't break it."

"No, you didn't," Klaus said, looking it over. "It seems to be pretty solid." Just then, something fell out of a compartment in the back. "What's this?" Caroline asked. She picked it up. It was a yellowed piece of paper. She opened it slowly, so that the brittle edges wouldn't crumble too much and squinted at the faded, loopy writing.

"It's a note!" She exclaimed.

"What does it say?" Klaus asked.

Caroline cleared her throat.

_"Victoria,_

_Take this and keep it close to your heart. If my family knew that I was giving it to you, they would disinherit me for sure, maybe even kill me. But Grandfather left me all his treasures because he knew that I would appreciate them for more than their monetary value, unlike the rest of my family, who are all vultures, I'm afraid to say. This is just the first of many things I will be sending you. Since you live in the servants' quarters, Mother and Father will never think to look for something so valuable there, although you know I would. Because that's where you are. And you are more valuable to me than anything in the world. As I said, I will be sending you Grandfather's pieces one by one and when they are all out of my family's grasp, we can elope. _

_Until that day, remember I love you dearly,_

_Theodore"_


	10. Giving Up the Ghost

"Is that all there is?" Klaus asked. "Or is there something else that might tell who Theodore and Victoria are?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "That's it. Just the note and the clock. I wonder if any of the other stuff Theodore was gonna send to Victoria is up here."

"Who knows?" Klaus asked. "And it will take a hell of a time to find if it is. So why don't we just put the clock somewhere safe and then we can look for the other stuff later?"

"Good idea," Caroline told him. "You know, it's kind of romantic: a rich guy giving it all up for the servant girl he loves...it's a classic!" She sighed longingly.

"But it's not going to help us figure out why Jack would still want the house!" Klaus said. "Caroline, please focus!"

"Will you relax?" Caroline asked. "When Melinda doesn't come back, Jack will probably get so concerned that he'll come here and confront us about where she is. We can ask him then. Now I want to find out more about Theodore and Victoria."

"You would," Klaus said. His bottom lip thrust out a little.

Caroline put the letter back in the clock and put the clock down. "And what's the matter with you?" She asked, walking over to him and running her fingers through his hair. "Why are you so grumpy all of a sudden?"

"Because we were in the middle of something and then that Melinda interrupted us!" He said huffily.

Caroline kissed him. "Well, what do you say we go downstairs and try to get the moment back?"

Klaus saw an old mattress in the corner of the attic and grinned, picking Caroline up, carrying her over to it and putting her down on it so that she was looking up at him as he loomed over her. "Trying is not an option," he said, taking off his shirt and his pants as she watched with wide eyes. "We _will _get the moment back." Then he leaned down and kissed her her deeply as she squealed and did her best to wriggle out of her skirt. Then she broke the kiss and he kissed down her neck, pushing into her gently as she sighed, whispered "Yes!" and ran her fingers through his hair.

When they had finally finished and he rolled off next to her, she looked at him. "All right," she said. "We've had our fun, now it's time to get back to work."

He grinned. "So does that mean you want to go again?"

"No!" She said, sitting up. "Well, at least not right now. Maybe later. We don't want to have all our fun at once, do we?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "I see no problem with that. What else do we have to do that would stop us?"

Caroline shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Let's see: making this place a suitable environment for people other than us to come and stay, finding out who Theodore and Victoria really were, figuring out what the hell Jack is up to. I think we have enough to keep ourselves busy for a very long time."

"You know what they say about all work and no play, love," Klaus reminded her.

Caroline nodded. "Oh, yes. I know. But it's not wrong to want to actually have accomplished something before you just go off and just waste your time doing nothing."

"I see I have some lessons to teach you still," he told her, moving a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I apparently haven't rubbed off on you entirely."

Caroline shook her head and backed away. "Oh, no," she said. "There will be no more rubbing. We have reached the limit of rubbing that can be done for the day."

Klaus just sighed. "Fine," he said. "I won't push you anymore. I suppose I should be grateful you managed to thaw out long enough to give me the little time we _did_ get."

Caroline scoffed and grabbed her skirt and top, putting them back on. "And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" She asked. "Are you calling me _frigid_?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes, I am. Why else would you be so enthusiastic about work all the time when you could be focused on..._other things._"

"What, you mean _you_?" Caroline asked. "Oh, like you're god's gift!"

"I never said that," Klaus told her, smirking. "_You _are the one who brought that up."

"Whatever," Caroline said. "Now let's just either go downstairs and do something else. I don't want to be up here anymore!"

Just as she made her way downstairs, the phone rang. Caroline answered it. "Hello?"

"Well!" Jack said. "Look who answered my call. That really surprises me, you know. But I'm pleased you're no longer bitter. What are you doing there? I sold the house to my friend Niklaus."

"Well, you know what?" Caroline said to him, "I have no reason to be bitter and if you thought you were giving me a reason to be by selling _my_ family's house to your friend, then you are _sorely_ mistaken. I have managed to make lemons out of lemonade. We're gonna turn the house into a hotel, you know. Make a business out of it. And it should be a very profitable one once we get things up and moving, so there."

"Well, good," Jack told her. "You know I want nothing more than for you to be successful in your life. I wish you only the best of luck. In fact, that's why I sent Melinda to your house to congratulate you. You _did_ see her, didn't you?"

"Just a minute," Caroline told him. She looked at Klaus, who was coming into the kitchen while zipping up his pants. "Who is it?" He asked her.

"It's Jack," Caroline said, putting the phone down. "He told me that he sent Melinda here to congratulate me on success with the hotel, but how the hell would _he_ know about that? Did you tell him? And what are we gonna tell him if he asks where she is? We can't say we compelled her to be the parlormaid."

"Give me the phone," Klaus told her. She handed him the phone and he took it. "Hello, Jack."

"Niklaus!" Jack said enthusiastically. "So wonderful to talk to you. How are you liking your new lodgings? A little shabby, I know. But it seems like you intend to make something of them and decided to take Caroline along for the ride. Why?"

"Because it's her family's house for Christ's sake, Jack!" Klaus said. "Which is something you neglected to mention when you sold it to me. I found her handcuffed to the front door!"

Jack laughed. "Did you really? That doesn't surprise me. Caroline is a real pistol. I just hope she hasn't made much trouble for you."

"No," Klaus said. "In fact, she's been a delight, since you're asking. A lot neater than _you_ were when we shared a hotel room during that convention in Brussels. And a lot nicer to look at in the morning, too! But now we're veering off subject. Are you calling about Melinda?"

"I am, as a matter of fact," Jack said. "I sent her over to congratulate you on the new business. Have you seen her yet?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "As a matter of fact, we have. We had a very nice conversation."

"Ask him what he sent her for," Caroline whispered. "Because I _know_ it's not to congratulate us on the business."

"Why did you really send her, Jack?" Klaus asked. "Thinking of going back on our deal?"

"Of course not!" Jack said. "Well, I was, sort of until you told me what you actually were intending to _do_ with the house. But I figure that we could make some sort of deal to make everyone happy."

Caroline snatched the phone away. "I heard everything!" She said. "Jack, you really do have the worst phone voice. Now, what is it that you're planning, you slimy, conniving bastard?!"

"Well, temper, temper," Jack said. "I simply am acting on behalf of your family. It seems there's something in that house that they want and they have enlisted me to get it back for them."

"What is it?" Caroline asked. "Because I will give them whatever trinkets they want if they just leave me and Klaus alone to do our business!"

"Oh, it's not that simple," Jack told her. "Years and years ago, your ancestor Theodore Forbes had an affair with a young housemaid named Victoria, who came over from England to act as the Forbes family's parlormaid. Theodore and she eventually began a physical relationship that in the beginning, the family thought nothing of, since it was typical of that time for young men of high station to have sexual relations with the help, but eventually, they realized that Theodore's feelings for Victoria were much deeper than that. He began sending his grandfather's valuables to a home he'd bought for the young woman and her family for safekeeping. After he'd gotten them all sent away, then he and Victoria would elope and start their life together using money they got from the sale of the priceless antiques. The house Victoria lived in is the one you're in now."

"Oh, really?" Caroline asked. "So Victoria and Theodore eloped and lived happily ever after?"

"No," Jack said. "Sadly not. Sadly, Victoria was the only honest member of her family. The rest were all liars and thieves. When they found out that Victoria _had_ the valuables and would be getting more, they lie in wait for Theodore one night, murdered him, and stole what he had with him, selling it off and taking the money. Terrified for her life, Victoria began hiding the other items everywhere in the house. And what she couldn't hide in the house, she sold. And then she hung herself from the attic rafters, leaving a note that said all she ever wanted was to be with Theodore."

"My god, that's a terrible story!" Caroline said. "How the hell do you know it if it's Forbes family lore and I've never even heard it?"

"Because your family wants me to buy back the house and recover all the things that Victoria hid," He said. "That's why they told me the story and that's why I want the house. Although, like I told Klaus, there _is _a way to make us all happy in this. You could make me a partner in your little venture. That way, I could do the chore assigned to me and you could still keep the hotel. What do you think?"

"I think you need to fuck off," Caroline said to him. "I don't care what my family wants you to do. This is gonna be a nice, respectable business and you aren't gonna come within a mile of it, do you understand me, Jack?" And then she slammed the phone down before he had time to say anything else. She was breathing deeply when she looked at Klaus again. He was grinning and an eyebrow was raised. "Such language," he said.

"Well, he has some nerve!" Caroline said. "He suggested we make him a partner in our business just because he's been assigned to be my family's errand boy." She rolled her eyes. "Apparently, the house is full of valuable antiques that they want that are worth gazillions of dollars. But we're not gonna let him in here, are we?"

"Well, no!" Klaus said. "Of course not. Now, what is it that you're saying about antiques being here that are worth gazillions of dollars?"

"Well, remember that note from Theodore to Victoria?" Caroline asked. "Apparently, he sent her more than that clock, but at one point when he came with an object, her family murdered and robbed him. Victoria feared for her life and began hiding the other objects around the house and what she couldn't hide, she sold. And then she killed herself."

"How?" Klaus asked.

Caroline pointed upward. "Hanging. In the attic."

Klaus sucked in his breath. "Well, my god. That's really something!"

"I think we should try and find the rest of stuff," Caroline said. "All the rest of the stuff that Theodore sent to Victoria. It would be a lot easier than having Jack do it. And besides, if we did it, we could use that as publicity! Tell everyone how we found all the antiques and share about Victoria and Theodore's love..."

"And what if we told them that Victoria was haunting the house, too?" Klaus asked. "You said that it would be a good idea for us to have a ghost."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Caroline said. "Victoria is part of a tragedy that happened to my family and I am_ not _gonna drag her name through the mud. Besides, she's not _actually_ haunting the place. We can't advertise a ghost if we don't have one. It would be a big disappointment to guests who came to the hotel just to see it and it wasn't there."

"She might be there," Klaus said. "Ever since you found that clock, the house has seemed colder. Or maybe that's just me."

"I think you're just saying that in the hope that I'll snuggle against you for body warmth," Caroline said. "And for god's sake, look at yourself: if you don't want to be cold, then you might want to think about putting on a shirt."

"I could do that," Klaus said. "But why would I, when there are so many more fun ways to keep warm?"

"Put on a sweater," Caroline said through her teeth. "There has to be one around here somewhere."

"But seriously, about Victoria," Klaus said. "She's a suicide and a victim of a love affair gone wrong. There are all sorts of ghosts like that. Why can't she be one of them?"

"You can think what you want," Caroline said. "But I prefer to think of her as resting in peace."

* * *

That night, Caroline sent Sally up to the attic to see if there was a table cloth up there that she could use on the main dining room table. Once Sally disappeared, Caroline began straightening chairs and dusting off the table. Suddenly, she heard a high, sharp shriek, and Sally came running downstairs.

"Something is up there!" She said, taking Caroline's hand. "I saw something. Come look!"

Caroline followed Sally up the stairs to the attic and saw, written in the frost on the window pane, were the words "help me."

"Sally," Caroline said, "If you did that to play a prank, it's not funny. You shouldn't do things like that to scare yourself or anyone else."

"But I didn't!" Sally said. "Look." She wiped the words off the window, and then she and Caroline watched in amazement as the letters wrote themselves on the windowpane again, this time accompanied by a faint whisper. "Help me."

"All right," Caroline said when she managed to find her voice and Sally had run down the stairs, shrieking in terror. "All right, Victoria. I'll help you. Just tell me what you want me to do."


	11. They May Try to Follow You Home!

But there was no further response from Victoria. Caroline sighed in exasperation. "All right, then. I can see you aren't gonna make this easy for me, are you? Just a piece of advice, though: I can't help you if you don't help me, you got it?!"

Suddenly the windows began to rattle, and one of the panes broke. Clearly, Victoria didn't appreciate her tone.

"All right, all right," Caroline said, throwing up her hands to protect her face in the event of an onslaught of flying glass shards. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off as a smart ass, but seriously. I don't know what to do _do_ know that we found that clock, right? Did you see that? Or whatever it is you ghosts do?" She chuckled nervously, wondering how long Victoria had been up here and just _how much_ Victoria might have seen. The thought that the ghost might have witnessed some of her and Klaus' more private moments made her blush a deep scarlet. When no further sound came from Victoria, Caroline began backing toward the door. "All right," she said. "I'm gonna go now. You come up with anything that could help Klaus and me help you, just let me know." She had just about reached the door when it was flung open, sending her crashing back down on the floor.

"Ow!" she said as she rolled over, her hair in her eyes. "Damn it. That was so painful." She blinked a couple of times, trying to see who it was who had hit her. They were standing over her, peering anxiously.

"Sorry about that, love," Klaus said, reaching out a hand to pull her up. "If I woulda known you were standing there, I never would have opened the door."

Caroline rubbed her aching nose gingerly. "You hit my face," she said. "Why did you come up here? Did Sally say anything?"

"No," Klaus said. "Why would she?" He watched Caroline struggled to sit up and then he said, "You know what? We don't know how hard I hit you when I opened the door, or how hard you hit when you hit the floor. Walking down a flight of stairs might just make you hurt yourself worse. Put your arms around my neck. I'll carry you."

"It's not my arms I want to put around your neck," Caroline said sourly, making wringing motions with her hands. But she reached toward him anyway and he picked her up and carried her down the stairs, his hand only moving up to stroke her breast once they reached the foot of the stairs before he put her on the floor. She slapped his hand away and narrowed her eyes at him. He just grinned and followed her into the kitchen.

"What were you doing up there?" Klaus asked. "Looking for more of Victoria and Theodore's mysterious antiques?"

"Well, yes and no," Caroline said. "You know how you think that if we had a ghost connected with this house, it would be a better draw for tourists?"

Klaus' eyes lit up. "Yes? What about it?"

"Well, you will be very happy to hear that we _do_ have a ghost after all."

"Oh?" Klaus' eyebrow went up. "Pray tell, who is it? Theodore or Victoria?"

"Victoria," Caroline said. "She needs our help with something. Probably finding all the antiques. I bet that's the only way she and Theodore can be reunited on the other side!"

"So did she tell you where the other antiques were?"

Caroline shook her head. "She's not particularly verbal. When I tried to get her to give me some hints, she got mad and blew out a window pane. Don't worry, no shards landed on me. So I guess we have to find the first clues ourselves."

"Well how do we do that?" Klaus asked, coming up behind her, playing with her hair and blowing in her ear.

"I don't know, I-Hey!" She said. "Stop doing that!"

"Why?" He grinned. "Does it tickle?"

"Victoria is a ghost, all right?" Caroline said. "She mainly stays up in the attic I think, cause that was the scene of her death, but you and I, we, well, you know, _did stuff_ up there! What if she saw us? I know some people get off on that, but personally, I just find it creepy!"

"So what are you saying?" Klaus asked her. "Are you saying you don't want to have sex anymore?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that we can't have sex _here_ anymore," Caroline said. "It would make me too uncomfortable!"

"Do you realize how silly you sound right now?" Klaus pointed out. "Victoria's mission is to get all the antiques Theodore gave her back together. Not to spy on us while we're having sex!"

"You don't know that!" Caroline countered, looking him in the eye. "You're not a ghost. You have no idea what ghosts do in their spare time."

Klaus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, we won't do it here. I guess we'll just have to move somewhere else. Like a hotel. A nice one, of course. And we'll have to stay there as long as this ghost thing is going on."

"We can't just move out of here!" Caroline said, horrified. "There's still so much that needs to be done here in order for the place to be inhabitable. We need to get business licenses and call electricians and plumbers and.."

"And we can do that during the day," Klaus said. "But you can't expect me to go without sex just because you're frightened that a ghost might be watching us. We'll spend our days here and our nights somewhere fancy. Do you think you could put up with that?" He asked her appealingly. "For my sake?"

"Well, fine!" Caroline said. "I'll suffer through room service and massages and a whirlpool tub just for your sake. And we could also call it research, I guess."

"Well, there you go," Klaus said. "That's a good way to look at it. Now let's see who can get us the nicest suite the quickest."

"Why would you need to call more than one place?" Caroline asked. "Why can't you just compel the concierge of the first hotel you call to give us the room?"

"Because," Klaus said simply, "compelling people over the phone is more difficult because you don't have eye contact with them, for one, and two, the nicest suite at the first hotel we call might already be occupied and we don't want to displace anyone, do we? I didn't think you'd want that on your conscience. But if you do-"

"No, no!" Caroline said quickly. "Call whoever you need to, do whatever you need to. I'll leave that all up to you. Meanwhile, I will go see about dinner and maybe ask Sally to play the piano for us. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Perfect."

* * *

Caroline looked around the hotel as Klaus led her into the lobby. It had a vaulted ceiling with a crystal chandelier hanging up and several stylishly mismatched chairs in various rainbow colors scattered around it and a black and white tile floor that they made their way across to speak to the man at the reception desk.

Klaus rang the bell and the man, wearing a tailored gray suit, nodded to him. "Hello," he said, brightening. "You're the ones who booked the honeymoon suite. Congratulations."

Klaus nodded. "Thank you."

The man handed them their keys. "Thanks for choosing us as the location for your honeymoon and we hope you have a delightful stay!"

"Thank you," Klaus nodded. As they walked away, Caroline frowned. "The _honeymoon suite?_ Those are so cheesy! What with the heart shaped tub and all that. Couldn't you have gotten something a bit more practical?"

"I thought you wanted to be somewhere fancy," Klaus pointed out as they approached the elevator. "And in my experience, fancy _never_ means rolled her eyes and they stepped into the elevator. It actually had an elevator attendant in it, dressed to the nines in a scarlet suit and hat. "Where to?" He asked them.

"Honeymoon suite," Caroline told him immediately. "We're on our honeymoon."

He grinned. "Well, congratulations!"

Caroline nodded. "Thank you very much."

The man then turned and pressed the button to go up to the second floor.

"It's only on the second floor?" Caroline asked incredulously. "We could have taken the stairs. Exercise is good for a person."

Klaus put his hand on the elevator operator's shoulder. "Ah, my darling," he said. "If everyone thought like you, this man would be out of a job, wouldn't he?" Klaus looked at the old man. "How long have you had this job?"

"I've been here for almost sixty years," the man said. "They hired me right out of high school. It was during the war, you know."

"Was it?" Klaus asked.

The man nodded. "Just after Pearl Harbor. I was scared to go into the army. I heard they tested you for bravery by making you cover yourself with peanut butter and jump into a pit full of wild, hungry dogs. Once I heard that, it was all over for me. My parents were incredibly disappointed."

"What would make you think you had to cover yourself in peanut butter and get attacked by dogs to get into the army?" Caroline asked him.

"It was cause of the Russians!" The man said earnestly. "News arrived in the war department that the Russians were so fearless, they could jump into a den of wild bears and come out unscathed. And of course the Sargent and other men in charge of recruiting wanted men just as strong, so..." He kept talking and Caroline and Klaus let their minds drift, as the ride suddenly seemed a lot longer than it was. They were snapped out of the stupor when the elevator bell rang, announcing their arrival on the second floor.

"There you go," The man said, breaking off his train of thought and handing them their bags. You have a nice time with us and make sure to come and see me again. It's nice to have someone to talk to."

"What a tragic man," Caroline said. "I wonder how long it's been since he's had a sensible, coherent thought?"

Klaus sighed. "Who knows?" He put the bags down next to the room with the right number attached to it and pushed the door open. "You go in first," he said to Caroline.

"Okay, sure," Caroline nodded. She walked inside and gasped. It wasn't at all what she'd expected. There were the usual champagne and strawberries on the table, but no heart-shaped hot tub. Instead, there was a huge grand piano. "Oh, my god," Caroline said, sitting down on the stool and fingering the keys. "This is a _beautiful_ instrument."

Klaus sat next to her. "And probably better tuned than the one we have at home as well."

Caroline looked at him. "Will you play me something?" She asked. "I would like you to play me something."

"I was actually thinking of going to find out where our hot tub actually _is_, but okay." He began playing a song.

"That's beautiful," Caroline said. "What song is it?"

"I made it up," he said. "For you. So I guess that would make it your song, wouldn't it?"

"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words, how wonderful life is, now you're in the world..." Caroline began. "That's 'Your Song'."

"Yes, but," Klaus tempered. "My gift is my song, and this one's for you."

Caroline giggled. "Did you seriously just make that up out of thin air?"

"You sound surprised," Klaus said. "As if you think I could never do something like this. You are in fact, very wrong. I spent many a happy day with various troubadors honoring beautiful women like yourself. I got quite good."

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, flipping her hair. "I bet in more ways than one."

"Jealous, are we?" Klaus asked her with a grin as she climbed onto the bed. "You have to give me some credit," he said. I'm being honest with you about my past. I'm not lying to you. Besides, practice makes perfect and my escapades in the past are really a benefit to you."

"Oh, when were you ever worried about being less than perfect?" Caroline asked him. I doubt you had that thought, ever."

"Well, I will admit that I haven't had it recently," Klaus said. "Would you agree with me?"

"I would say you aren't bad at all," Caroline said. "That's what I'd say."

Klaus grinned and came to sit next to her. "Well, aren't you a tough customer?"

"I thought you were gonna go find the hot tub," Caroline said, moving out of his reaching grasp. "I'm gonna go look for someone to give me a massage and if I can't find that, then I'll stop by a vending machine."

"If you want to find someone to give you a massage," Klaus told her, wiggling his fingers, "you know you don't have to go to all the trouble of leaving the room. Unless you still have it in your head that Victoria is attached to us and is gonna see everything we're doing?"

"No," Caroline said. "I just figure that you're paying a lot of money for this room and services rendered, right? Or you should be, instead of compelling it all. So I might as well get your money's worth." Ignoring his protestations, she left the room and shut the door behind her, pausing beside it to take a deep breath. She wasn't trying to be difficult, really. But the truth was, she _was_ still a bit worried about Victoria. She went into the vending machine room to put a dollar and a half in the machine for a pop and then when she looked at the glass cover of the machine next to her, she started violently. A forlorn-looking young woman in a drab black dress and cap stood behind her, a dark ring around her neck, but when Caroline turned around, she saw no one. "Victoria?" She said. "Please go away now. We'll help you in the morning when we go back to the house, but now Klaus and I just want some time to ourselves." She turned back to the mirror and the woman nodded slightly and then disappeared.

"Okay," Caroline said. "Hopefully that means I can just relax now." She left the vending machine room and almost immediately tripped over something. She looked down at the ground and saw a small black book, open to a page already.. She looked around, but no one passing by seemed to notice it. Curious, she picked it up and gazed at it, dust and a musty smell making her cough. The pages were water-damaged, and the ink was faded, but thanks to her superior eyesight, she could make out the loopy script.

"_January 5th, 1900._

_I am in trouble. My relatives found out about Theodore giving me his family treasures. They want them, so they can sell them off and then use the money that they get for the beautiful things to go and drink. I worry for Theodore. I worry that one day, he will come here to give something to me and my family will catch up to him, kill him and take whatever he has. But not before they force me to give them everything else and then kill me because I'll be of no use afterward. So I know what I have to do. I'm going to hide all I've gotten in places that my relatives will never think to look, write down in this diary all the locations, and hide the diary in the tree where Theodore and I leave our love notes. He'll be certain to find it. Then, he can get all the things he's already sent me and take them back to his family, where they belong, and I won't have to live with betraying him._

_I'll telephone Theodore tonight and tell him that I want to give him back the things and that I'm leaving instructions about where to find everything I've hidden. And then, I'm going to end my life. I'm sorry it has to be this way. Sorry for myself, and especially sorry for Theodore. I really hope he can move on without me. It would be the best thing for him, really._

_Victoria." _

Caroline gazed at the diary in shock. That was all this entry had to offer her? Not only was it sad, wasn't particularly helpful either. She shut the book and stomped back to the room, feeling intense frustration. "Stupid Victoria!" She muttered. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

Klaus looked up, grinning. "Sounds like you're frustrated. Could you use a little tension reliever?"'

Caroline nodded. "Oh, for the love of god, yes!" She said. She quickly removed her clothes down to just her underwear and got on her stomach on the bed. "So," Klaus said as he massaged her neck, "what's the problem?"

"Victoria," Caroline told him. "I saw her reflection in a vending machine and then when I was coming out of the vending machine room, I just happened to trip over her diary. I think she left it for me."

"Oh?" Klaus moved down to her shoulders and upper back and she moaned happily. He tried to keep himself calm, reminding himself that this was more about her than him. It didn't really help all that much, but at least he gave it a shot. "Was the diary any help to you?"

Caroline shook her head, her blonde hair shimmering in the light. "The first entry that I read wasn't helpful at all. It was just basically her suicide note. But it said that the rest of the diary is supposed to be filled with instructions about where Victoria hid the rest of the antiques. It was supposed to be so that Theodore could find all the stuff that he gave her and bring it back home to his family. She supposedly left the diary with the instructions in the same tree where they left all their love letters."

"So she left it somewhere she knew he would look, yet apparently, he never did cause the antiques are still in our house," Klaus said. "Hmmm."

Caroline nodded. "Yep." She turned the diary around in her hands. "And I still can't think for the life of me where all the water damage came from." She felt him reach the bottom of her lower back and said, "Thank you. You can stop now."

"Oh, no!" He said to her. "It's too soon. It wouldn't be any trouble for me to ease off these things and-" She felt him ease off her panties and then flip her around. He grinned down at her and pulled off his shirt and pants. "Now that's better, don't you think?" He asked, getting off her bra.

She nodded. "Yes." She kissed him. As he kissed down her neck, his hands roaming over her breasts and stomach, she said, "You know the only reason why I'm letting you do this is so I'll get worn out and actually have a chance at a decent night's sleep, right?"

Klaus grinned, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. "Well, all right," he said. "Whatever excuse makes you comfortable." He pushed into her and she gasped, clutching him tightly. Yes, she thought to herself. If he did that several more times like she wanted him to, she definitely would be sleeping soundly tonight.


	12. Working With The Enemy

The next morning, Caroline suggested to Klaus that they just go back to the house.

"Why?" He asked. "I thought you were nervous about Victoria spying on us," he said with a smirk.

She nodded. "I was, but she found me at the hotel anyway, and last night went smootly enough, so let's just go back to the house. Now that we have Victoria's diary, she might lay off for awhile, you know? Give us time to look things over and develop a plan of action."

They paid and left the hotel, going back to the house. "I should probably get that clock from the attic," Caroline said. "That's one of the things Theodore gave her and we don't want to lose it."

"What if we don't do all the looking ourselves?" Klaus asked. "What if we stop, open the hotel first and then make a sort of treasure hunt so that the guests will find the antiques for us?"

"No!" Caroline shook her head. "At least not right away! It might be something fun to do later, like recreate our search as a sort of scavenger hunt, but I think looking for the stuff ourselves is half the fun, don't you? Or are you just giving up now?"

"No!" Klaus said quickly. "Of course I'm not giving up now!"

"Well, good!" Caroline said. "Because I will find all the stuff myself if I have to, but I would much rather do it with you."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Caroline went to the door and looked through the peephole, then turned away, groaning. "It's Jack. Should I let him in?"

Klaus nodded. "You might as well. He won't go away until we do." Reluctantly, Caroline opened the door and Jack, with clipboard, pad of paper, and pen in hand, strode through it. "Good morning all!" he said brightly.

"What can we do for you?" Caroline asked, her voice tight. "Or did you just stop by to say 'Hello'?"

"I came over because I have something in my possession that might be of help to you," Jack said. "A list of the antiques that Theodore gave Victoria. It should make the search for them easier for us."

"Um, we have a list too," Caroline told him. "Right from Victoria's diary, which she gave to me last night. So we won't need your help, regardless of what my family has assigned you to do."

"I have a suggestion, mate," Klaus said to him. "We have Melinda here, and if we reunite you two, will you go away and never darken our doorway again?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "Because for one, how could you possibly have Victoria's diary? She's been dead for over a hundred years! And it disappeared after she killed herself and no one has seen it since."

"Would you believe me if I told you I got it from her ghost?" Caroline asked him.

Jack looked at her pityingly. "Wow," he said. "It seems like getting this hotel business up and running has ruined your mind. Either that or you're practicing the ploy you're going to sell to the tourists on me, in which case I say, how clever!"

Caroline and Klaus laughed at one another nervously. "Of course that's just the ploy we're going to sell to the tourists!" Klaus told Jack. "What kind of a gullible fool would actually believe there was a ghost here?"

"But we really do have Victoria's diary," Caroline said. "And that lists the locations of all the stuff, so although you were kind to offer your help, you can go now, Jack. We don't need you."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Well, fine," he said. "If you think you're so smart, we'll _both_ look for the antiques!" He said. "Whoever finds more wins."

"You seriously want to make this a contest?" Caroline asked. "Why? All the stuff is in the house. Victoria's diary said so!"

"That's where you're wrong," Jack said. "All the stuff _used_ to be in the most of it was found and sold off to pawn shops and thrift stores. It could be anywhere. And since I'm the one who knows that, it must mean that it is I who has the most useful list and not you." He dangled the paper in front of Caroline's face."

"Fine," she said, snatching it away from him. "But if we're going to do your stupid contest, you have to be fair. You have to make us a copy of your list before we do anything."

"Fine," Jack told her. "Whatever. I'll make you a copy of my list." He left and then Klaus and Caroline were left staring at one another in silence. Then she groaned. "What did I just do?" She asked him. "I agreed to let Jack in on this. I'm sorry!"

"Well if what he said is true, then you really had no choice other than letting him work with us," Klaus told her. "It's really not your fault."

Caroline sighed. "I just hate Jack so much!"

"Frankly, I do too," Klaus told her. "I thought that when I bought the house from him, it would be the last time we'd ever have to see each other. But no, apparently not."

"Let's focus on something else to keep our minds off him," Caroline said. "There's no reason to be thinking of him when he's not here."

"Really?" Klaus said. "What sort of distraction did you have in mind?"

"I want to have a look at that diary," Caroline said. "I want to figure out why it was so wet. I put it in my purse. Let me go get it." She grabbed her purse and began looking around for it. "Oh, shit!" She exclaimed. "It's gone! I could swear that I put it in here when we left the hotel. Don't tell me I left it behind. We _need_ it!" She looked at Klaus. "Do you think Jack took it? Was he anywhere near my purse when he was here?"

"Why would Jack take it if he claims to have a better copy of the list of stuff we're supposed to find?" Klaus asked.

"I don't know!" Caroline said. "He could have done it just because he's an idiot who likes to irritate me as much as possible."

Klaus nodded. "Touche. You do have a point. But why is finding out why the diary is wet so important to you?"

"Well, are diaries usually wet?" Caroline asked. "We know Victoria wrote all the instructions about where she put the stuff Theodore gave her in the diary, and then she put it in a place where only Theodore could find it so he could take the stuff back. But what if someone found the diary before he did and got rid of it? Like, threw it in a river, maybe?" She gasped. "Or what if they threw _Theodore_ in the river?"

"I thought you wanted to find the diary!" Klaus said. "What are we doing now? Have the plans changed?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "No, they haven't. I just thought we could take a different approach. Like, maybe have a seance and try to contact Theodore and ask him where the diary is?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Klaus said, laughing. "You lost the diary, okay? That doesn't mean that you need to turn to supernatural means to find it. It just means you have to look harder with your own two eyes."

"You and me next to each other in a darkened room," Caroline told him. "Would you honestly pass up an opportunity like that?"

"Well," Klaus shrugged. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to try it once."

Klaus elected to stay behind and wait for Jack to return while Caroline went into town and looked for a ouija board. She found one at a thrift store and brought it back. Then she and Jack and Klaus sat in the kitchen with the lights off and candles flickering.

"Okay," Caroline said. "First, I'm gonna ask Victoria where the diary went." She cleared her throat. "Victoria, why is your diary missing?" She and Klaus sat with their fingers on the planchette, impatiently waiting for it to move. Then, Caroline realized that Jack wasn't helping and that's why nothing was happening.

"You have to help us!" Caroline hissed at him. "Put your fingers on the planchette and believe for god's sake. How hard is that?"

"I thought you said this whole ghost thing was just a ploy to bring in tourists," Jack said. "They can't be real. It's just a bunch of hokum."

Just then, a gaslight above Jack's head that hadn't worked in years brightened rapidly and then exploded, causing a small fire to start on the sleeve of Jack's suit jacket. Klaus rolled his eyes and went to get something to help Jack put it out and once that was taken care of, they continued, with Jack apologizing to the spirits and putting his fingers on the planchette.

"Victoria," Caroline asked, "Where did the diary go?"

They eagerly watched the planchette move. "G-O-N-E. Well, that's not very helpful," Caroline said. "Can't you tell us anything else?" She felt Klaus' hand on her chest and she slapped it away. "That can wait!" She snapped.

"How did you get the diary?" Klaus asked, the candles illuminating his sheepish face.

"I was getting a pop, I saw Victoria's reflection in the pop machine, and then when I left the vending machine area, it was just lying on the floor nearby," Caroline said. "Why?"

"What if the diary you found at the hotel wasn't the real one?" Klaus asked. "What if it was just an image of the real one, or something like that, and the real one is somewhere else?"

The planchette moved again. Y-E-S. W-A-T-E-R.

Caroline gasped. "Victoria, you know the diary is in the water? What water. Where?"

"N-O-T V-I-C-T-O-R-I-A." Caroline paused. "Who's talking to us now? Theodore?"

"Y-E-S. M-U-R-D-E-R."

"Oh, there's murder now," Klaus said. "How lovely."

Suddenly, Caroline let out a shriek as the house was plunged into darkness. She clutched at Klaus and then he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. They ran from the kitchen, leaving Jack to fend for himself. They ran until they reached their room and shut the door behind them. They were both breathing hard. When the lights came back on, they stared at one another. "Let's not do that again, all right?" Klaus asked. "That was just a little _too_ much fun for my taste."

"But you have to admit we did learn some stuff," Caroline said. We learned that Theodore was murdered and that there was water involved." She sighed. "I bet he had the diary with him when he died. If it got thrown in the water, it's probably desintegrated by now. So that's a dead end."

"I don't think it just got thrown in the water," Klaus said. "It was full of valuable information that Theodore's killers would have needed. Assuming his killers were your or Victoria's relatives who wanted to get their hands on the antiques."

"I would guess that it was Victoria's relatives who got hold of the diary. That's why all the stuff got put in a bunch of different places instead of still being in the house," Caroline said. Just then, the door opened and Jack fell to the floor and dragged himself inside. "Thank you so much for helping me after the power went out," he said dryly. "That was really nice of you."

"How did all the antiques get to pawnshops?" Caroline asked him.

"Well, obviously someone found them and sold them, didn't they?" Jack asked. "Probably it was Victoria's relatives."

"That's what we thought too!" Caroline said. "But where do we go from there? All this happened a hundred years ago! We don't know what pawnshops the people even went to!"

Jack gingerly got to his feet and handed Caroline a list. "Here is the list of the antiques that Victoria got from Theodore. Would that help?"

Caroline looked the list over. "Well, we can cross out the clock because we found that in the attic. That leaves only nine more things we have to track down. That shouldn't be too bad, right?"

"I suppose not," Jack said. "I need to take a break. Can we start looking tomorrow?"

"Sure," Caroline said. "But Klaus and I reserve the right to start searching early if we want to."

"Oh, no we don't," Klaus said. "We've worked hard enough today. We're taking a break and continuing this tomorrow, just like Jack suggested."

"And did you mention something about Melinda being here?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Just a minute." He went upstairs, found Melinda, and took the compulsion off of her. "Just one more thing before I send you with her," Klaus said. "She is a good person, and if you expect me to send her with you, you have to swear that you'll let her have a job and her own life because that is what she deserves, okay?"

"Okay," Jack said. "I promise."

"You better not be lying, Jack," Caroline said. "Because if you are, we _will_ find out, and we _will_ do something about it."

"Since when do you care about Melinda?" Jack asked her. "I thought you were mad at her because she broke you and I up."

"I don't hold her entirely responsible for what happened to us," Caroline said. "Not anymore. I've come to realize she didn't have half as much to do with our break up as you did and that you are just a really awful human being. I should be thanking her on bended knee for what she did to us!"

Jack's eyes narrowed. He grabbed Melinda's arm and pulled her along behind him. All she had time to do was shout out a "Goodbye!" before her voice faded away and then they heard Jack's car pull out of the driveway.

"You know," Caroline said, "I feel kind of bad that we sent Melinda with him. She really deserves better than that."

"And she'll get it," Klaus said. "I compelled her to tell Jack she wants to break up, no matter what he says to entice her back."

"Awww!" Caroline said. "You're such a softie!"

"I just don't like seeing women get taken advantage of, that's all," he said. Then he clapped his hands. "So, what do you say we go upstairs and have some fun?"

"Oh, all right," Caroline said. "After all, all work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy."

"You better believe it," Klaus said. "Tell me, Caroline: Do you feel lucky?"

"It depends," Caroline said. "Why?"

Klaus pulled a deck of cards from his pocket. "Have you ever played strip poker?"

"I haven't played it sober," she said. "That will be a new experience." They went into their room and Caroline shuffled and dealt out the cards.

"I could have done that," Klaus said. "You didn't have to."

"Yes, I did," Caroline said. "You just would have cheated and made it so I was naked way before you!"

"And the problem with that is...?" Klaus asked, eyebrow raised.

Suddenly, Caroline stood up and pulled off all her clothes, sitting on the floor in her bra and panties. "There," she said. "Happy? Now the only one who really has to strip is you!"

"I believe you are still wearing a few things," Klaus said, coming up beside her and unhooking her bra. "But we can take care of that easily, can't we?"

"Not unless I see that shirt of off you right this minute," Caroline said, pulling away from him. "Take off your shirt right now. And your pants!"

"As you wish, my love," he said. "If you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask." When he'd stripped down to his boxers, Caroline looked at him with wide eyes, threw her cards down, and said, "To hell with strip poker. We're practically naked anyway. Let's just get to the fun stuff! She threw herself at Klaus and knocked him backward. They rolled around on the floor for awhile and then hoisted themselves into bed, where they fell asleep, not waking up until the sun flooded through the windows the next morning.


	13. Getting Ahead

In the weeks that followed, Klaus and Caroline made the house habitable for visitors. Finally, it was time for opening night.

"I can't believe you're opening before you find all the antiques," Jack said. "Doesn't it bother you to have Victoria and Theodore hanging around all the time? Once you find the antiques, they'll go away!"

"You're acting like we think of them as a nuisance or something, Jack!" Klaus said. "What if we don't necessarily want to get rid of them?"

"Yeah," Caroline said. "If they're happy here then we shouldn't have any right to send them away. They were here first."

"Oh, and I'm sure the fact that hotels with verified hauntings are a major draw has absolutely nothing to do with your decision to make them stay?" Jack asked sarcastically."

"You know what, Jack?" Caroline said. "Shut up!"

Jack just gave her a simpering grin and strode off.

"You know," Klaus said to her. "Now that we've decided that we don't need Theodore and Victoria to go necessarily, Jack doesn't really need to be here. I could kill him if you wanted."

Caroline frowned. "How could you say something like that? Klaus, what is going through your head?! If he's gonna be killed, we're gonna kill him _together_. End of story. Just like the last time you offered to kill him."

"And do you think he should be killed?" Klaus asked her.

"Well, I don't know if we need to go _that_ far," Caroline said. "Can you just, I don't know, compel him to leave and never come back?"

"I don't understand," Klaus said. "Not even half a minute ago, you said we were going to kill him together. Make up your mind!"

"I did _not_ say we were gonna kill him together right this minute," Caroline said. "I said that if it ever gets to the point where he needs to be killed, we're doing it together. He's a pain in the ass, but he hasn't done anything worth killing over yet."

"I can think of several things, all involving you, that he's done to warrant being killed," Klaus told her. "Or are you just planning to let the way he treated you while you were married go?"

"Well, no, of course not!" Caroline said. "But he doesn't deserve to die just because he's an asshole."

"It seems like we have differing opinions on the subject," Klaus said. "But I suppose it wouldn't hurt me any to wait until I have actual proof for you that Jack needs to be dead. And then we'll kill him together and everything will just be dandy."

Caroline still looked doubtful. "I still say that the best thing to do would be to compel him so that he goes away and doesn't come back."

"But where's the fun in that?" Klaus asked.

Caroline's jaw dropped a little. "You should not enjoy killing people, okay? It should be used as a last resort, if there are no other ways of handling anything. Now, if one of us, most likely me, compels Jack to leave and never come back, he won't. Killing will not be necessary."

"Let me ask you a question," Klaus said. "Was there ever any point when you were so mad you wanted to kill him? There had to have been. You can't be so peppy and optimistic and cheerful that you survived all those years of marriage without thinking for one second that you wanted him dead? Caroline, you were a vampire married to a _human_! How in the hell did he ever have any power over you for a day, let alone your whole marriage?"

"I've never been very good with men," Caroline said, her eyes averted. "It's always been that way. I was always the second choice, and even when I did land a guy, he would think that I was too dramatic, or he only wanted to use me for sex. After awhile, I just got used to it. It never occurred to me that it could be any other way."

Then she made the mistake of looking at Klaus' face. He was angry. She looked at his hands that were balled into fists and instinctively, she flinched. When he saw that, Klaus relaxed, pulling her to him. "What's the matter?" He asked. "I wasn't gonna hurt you. I was mad _for_ you. Not at you."

Caroline looked up at him, tears starting in her eyes. "I know that," she said, wiping them away. "It's just that Jack-"

Klaus let her go and then strode off. "Wait a minute!" Caroline said. "Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to find Jack," Klaus said through his teeth. "I want to_ talk _to him."

Caroline stood there for a second, then ran after him. "What do you hope to accomplish by killing Jack?" She asked him. "If you think it'll make me like you, if you think it will make me fall to my knees and thank you, it won't."

"I wasn't going to kill him," Klaus said. "I was going to let _you_ do that. No one deserves the opportunity more than you. Think about all the times you wanted to see the world, but he wouldn't let you. Think about how he sold this house to me without telling you. Think about all the times he treated you like you were _nothing_. If you can look me in the eye and tell me that he never made you angry, honestly, then I won't kill him. You won't kill him. _We_ won't kill him." He then looked at Caroline, waiting for her to tell him what he wanted to hear.

"You might think that you're doing something to help me right now," Caroline said at last, her voice quiet. "But all you're really doing is ordering me around just like Jack did. You know I don't want to kill him, but you do, so you're justifying it by saying you're gonna let _me_ do it. But I'm never gonna kill him because I don't think it's right."

"But you said you wanted to kill him!" Klaus told her.

"I know what I said," Caroline nodded. "But I was caught up in the moment. I take back what I said. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Jack and compel him to do something really, really embarrassing."

Klaus just sighed and let her go. It wasn't exactly what Jack deserved, but as long as it was how Caroline felt he should be punished, he wasn't gonna stand in her way.

* * *

When the first guests walked through the door, Caroline and Klaus were at the reception desk to greet them. "Welcome," Caroline said to the young couple who looked to be on their honeymoon. "Thank you so much for staying with us."

"It's a nice place you've got here," the man commented. "I just have one thing I'd like to ask and I hope you won't think it's a strange question, but, how firm are the beds here? Can they stand up to a lot? Because my wife and I are on our honeymoon and-" His wife gave him a sour look and punched him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry," Caroline said with a grin. "You'll be fine, I promise." They left and Klaus and Caroline looked at one another. "You handled that well," he said.

"You know, I thought you were being silly when you suggested trying out all the beds in this place to make sure they were strong enough to withstand enthusiastic lovers, but I guess you had good instincts."

_"You can't be serious about this," Caroline had said not a week before. _

_"Oh, I am," Klaus told her. "How long do you think it's been since any of these beds have been slept in? Or people have done anything else in them? The only beds we know for sure are safe are yours and mine and there's no way the guests are taking our rooms." He paused and looked at her curiously. "Why are we still sleeping in separate rooms anyway? We're married."_

_"But that doesn't count!" Caroline said. "That was us being fake married, even if it _did_ happen at a nice castle."_

_"Well, what are you waiting for?" Klaus asked her. "We live together, we sleep together, we like each other, what else do you need? I think we should sleep in the same room. It'll give us more space for customers."_

_"Fine," Caroline replied. "Who's gonna give up their room? You or me? Me, I bet. Because I'm the woman."_

_"Actually," Klaus told her, "I was thinking of giving up the master bedroom, calling it the deluxe suite, and then retreating to your cozy little hideaway behind the wall."_

_"Really?" Caroline asked, looking a little surprised. "Are you serious?"_

_"Of course," Klaus said. "I hope you don't think I'd lie about that."_

_"Okay," Caroline nodded. "So we're turning the master bedroom into a guest bedroom." _

_"And we still have to test the mattresses to make sure the beds don't fall apart," Klaus reminded her. "Which room would you like to start in?"_

_"Well," Caroline said with a grin, "I thought we could start at the top," she gave him a peck on the lips, "and then work our way down to the bottom." She ran her hands down his body and then they ended up in Klaus' back pockets._

_"Well, well, well," he said. "I see you're ready for this."_

_Caroline nodded. "I admit that I was against it at first, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check the beds to be sure, would it?"_

_They started up in the attic, which of course was being billed as "the haunted room." Since they'd already made love up there a few times, it wasn't difficult. "Yeah," Caroline nodded when she could finally get a breath, her face flushed, her hair mussed, her naked body warm. "This seems firm enough all right. I don't think we have to worry about it breaking down on anyone."_

_"Are you sure?" Klaus asked. "Maybe we should test it a bit longer."_

_"Oh, come on," Caroline said, mussing his hair. "It's not like we're not gonna do this again once we reach another room with a bed. You're not being deprived."_

_Klaus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "Put your robe on and let's go to another room."_

_They repeated this process on every bed in the house and by the time they found themselves in what was now their bedroom (Caroline's old room), Klaus looked at Caroline with a grin. "I have to admire you," he said. "I didn't think you'd have the stamina to last this long."_

_"Oh, please," Caroline said. "I had this one boyfriend back in high school and practically all we did was have sex! Even after people died in town, that very night after the funeral, there we were, in his bed. He called it 'grief sex'." She rolled her eyes. "Can you believe I used to fall for crap like that?"_

_"Well, everyone makes mistakes," Klaus told her as he slipped her robe on. "Everyone makes mistakes but not everyone learns from them. Do you think you've learned from your mistakes?"_

_"Well, now I'm with a guy who offered to kill a guy who treated me like shit and I'm happy," Caroline said. "What do you think?"_

"Miss? Miss?" Caroline blinked, being brought back abruptly to the present, finding an older man looking at her. "Are you all right, young lady?" He asked her.

"Oh, yes," Caroline nodded. "I apologize. My mind was somewhere else. Your name, please?"

"Rogers," he said. "Wilbur Rogers."

Caroline handed him his room key and said, "Thank you, Mr. Rogers. I hope you enjoy your stay."

She handed out keys to a couple more guests and when the next one appeared, she looked up and gasped. "You!"

"Hello, Miss Forbes, the man said. It was her old landlord. "I believe you owe me a room key and a thousand dollars in back rent. Actually, it's more now."

"Is it?" Caroline asked. "Well, I'm sorry. I am planning on paying you back. With the proceeds we make from the business."

"Or there _is_ another way you could repay your debt to me," he said. "I assume you'd prefer that. I'll be in your room tonight at ten. Keep a light on for me." He snatched his key out of her grasp, gave her a wink and walked away.

"What did I miss?" Klaus asked as he came up behind her. "Anyone interesting show up while I was in the bathroom?"

Caroline growled. "Well, if you can call my sleezy son of a bitch former landlord interesting then I saw him. He said that he's coming to my room tonight and after he gets what he wants, he'll consider us even."

Klaus' eyes flashed. "I'm sorry, but if you don't kill him, I will."

"Oh, this is one thing I cannot forgive," Caroline said. "He's getting what's coming to him."

* * *

That night, Caroline grabbed an axe out of the tool shed and made to her landlord's room. "It's time," she said to Klaus when she ran into him en route. "Find some way to entertain the guests in the rooms near his so we don't have any interference."

"All right," Klaus nodded. "Good luck. If you need any help at all, I'm here for you."

Caroline nodded, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it tight, feeling comforted by the warmth of his hand in hers. "Thank you," she said quietly before she let him go and continued on her mission. When she reached the room and shut the door behind her, she saw that it was empty. She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not she could actually go through with this. He was an ass, that was for sure, but he was still a _person._ If she killed him, she would only be stooping to his level.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Caroline let out a tiny shriek as the door opened. She threw the axe and it landed in the wall by the door. "Relax," Klaus said. "It's only me. I'm not gonna hurt you. Do you need any more encouragement, or do you still have your nerve?"

"I don't know," Caroline said. "I thought it would be easy to kill him, but ass or not, he's still a person!"

"He stopped being a person the day he kicked you out of your apartment," Klaus said, his gaze dark. "And now he has the nerve to not only hold the rent for that hell hole of an apartment over your head, but also tell you that everything will be okay if you just give yourself to him. Caroline, is that what you want? Do you want to give yourself to him?"

"No!" Caroline said, her stomach convulsing. "He's a drunk and he always smells like sweat!"

"So then you have to do something!" Klaus told her. "Just by looking at him, I can tell he's the sort that wouldn't handle hearing 'no' very well."

"I think you're right," Caroline said. "But I'm going to say it anyway. I'm going to stand up for myself." She paused. "Would you go hide in the closet or something in case things get really bad?"

Klaus nodded. "Of course." He went and hid in the closet, watching the exchange between Caroline and the landlord from a crack in the door.

The landlord stumbled into the room right on time, red, and reeking of alcohol. "Well, here you are then, you pretty girl," he said, grabbing hold of Caroline's hair and pulling. "Let's have some fun, shall we?"

"No!" Caroline yelled, elbowing him in the gut. "I don't want to and you can't make me!"

He made a noise and let her go, reaching for her again almost as quickly. Caroline grabbed the axe, bringing it down so that his head was split in two. "Oh, my god," Carole gasped. "Oh, my god!"

"Well," Klaus said, stepping out of the closet. "Not exactly the vampire's way of doing things, but you got the job done." He watched her lip quiver and her eyes get big. "Are you okay?" He asked, taking her into his arms.

"I know he was a jerk and an ass and wanted to use me, but I can't believe that I killed him!" Caroline sobbed against his shoulder.

"There, there," he said. "Why don't you lie down and Jack and I will go dispose of his body and clean up the carpet. I highly doubt anyone will miss him." She nodded and lay down, but she was still shaking.

"It's all right, shhh, shhh. Relax," Klaus said. "It's going to be all right. You were brave and strong and I'm proud of you."

Caroline looked up at him. "Really?" She asked. "Do you mean that?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Would you stay with me?" Caroline asked. "We can get Jack and someone else to take care of the body and clean up the carpet, can't we?"

Klaus nodded. "As you wish," he said.


	14. Another Treasure

But Klaus didn't call Jack until he was sure that Caroline was asleep.

"Oh, my god!" Jack exclaimed, looking horrified when he saw the landlord's body. "What happened here? Who did this?"

Klaus nodded in Caroline's direction. "She did," he said. "This man treated her horribly and his death is well-deserved."

Jack shut his eyes tight. "Did you just bring me in here to look at that, or...?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "I called you in here to dispose of the body. But before you go, do take a look at that body, Jack. Let the sight of the man's bloody, split skull be engrained in your memory forever. Because it could be you if you run into me when I'm having a bad day."

"Me?" Jack asked, his voice shaking. "Why me? What have I done?"

Klaus gave a humorless laugh. "Are you honestly asking me what you've done? Do you really not have any clue?" He gestured toward Caroline. "Think of all you've done to her. How you mistreated her. And then, you stay away from me. Unless of course, you have a death wish."

Jack swallowed nervously. "You were saying that you wanted me to take the body? Where do you think I should put it?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Don't be a fool, Jack. Use your imagination. You can put it wherever the hell you want as long as the guests don't see you. Now go!"

"I can't pick up this body by myself!" Jack said.

"Fine, go call Daniel to assist you," Klaus replied. "I think he's in the kitchen."

Jack nodded and left the room, coming back with Daniel a few minutes later. They removed the body and then Daniel set to work scrubbing the bloodstains out of the carpet.

"Is it gone?" Caroline asked Klaus, her eyes opening. "Is the body gone?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes, love. It's gone. I had Jack and Daniel take it away. You won't have to think of it again, ever."

Caroline looked at him and sighed. "Good," she said. "I know I should feel bad about killing him, but the fact is, I don't. He was horrible and it wasn't like he left a family behind or anything. If that were the case, I would feel bad. But he didn't, so I don't."

"You don't have to tell me," Klaus said. "I certainly won't judge you."

Caroline shut her eyes and nodded. "Thanks. At least _someone_ won't." She stood up. "What should we do now? It's late. You wanna go to bed?"

"Actually," Klaus said, "remember how you told me that you wanted me to arrange a distraction for the guests while you carried out this little venture of yours? Well, I did. We're actually about to have a little sing-along in the music room. I would skip it, but it seems I'm the only one who's competent with the piano."

Caroline gasped and put a hand to her chest in fake shock. "I can't believe you're passing up sex with me to go play the piano...I'm impressed!"

Klaus grinned and nodded. "And _I_ cannot believe you just split a man's head in two with an axe and you can still think about sex!"

Caroline grinned. "Does this mean we're rubbing off on each other?"

A smiled slowly curved Klaus' lips. He leaned forward and kissed her, his hand gently massaging her breasts. When they pulled apart for a moment, she moaned and he began kissing down her neck. "The piano," she said. "What about the piano?" She sucked in her breath as he pulled her shirt over her head.

Klaus kissed her again, laying her back on the bed. "What about the piano?"

"You said that everyone is in the music room waiting for you to do a sing along," Caroline reminded him. "Don't let me distract you from that. We want everyone to have a good experience here."

He paused kissing down her stomach to give her a look. "You're so cruel!" He said. "You get me all hot and bothered and then you have to go and remind me about my responsibilities!"

Caroline sat up. "Come on," she said. "I'll make it worth your while." She hopped off the bed and put her shirt back on.

"What does _that_ mean?" He asked her. She walked to the door, turned back to him, and winked. "You'll see," she said.

* * *

When they got to the music room, everyone looked at Klaus expectantly. Finally, one of the guests stood up from his chair. "Glad to see you're back," he said. "We were beginning to worry that you'd gotten lost or something. We were gonna send out a search party to come and find you."

Klaus and Caroline grinned at each other, then Klaus said to the man, "Thank you for your concern, but I wasn't lost. I was simply looking for Caroline to see if she wanted to come and join us for our evening of fun. As you can see, she's kindly consented and here she is."

Caroline waved. "Hi, everyone! Are you all having a good time tonight?"

"YES!" The entire crowd in the music room said at the same time, very loudly.

Caroline nodded. "All right then! Let's get to singing then! Klaus and I will play the piano and you all will sing the loudest you possibly can, all right?"

The crowd in the music room nodded enthusiastically, then Caroline sat down next to Klaus at the piano while he played. At first, she just kept her arm around his shoulder, but as the sing-along went on and people got more and more into singing, her hand moved from his shoulder to his thigh, where she gave it a squeeze, then, over to his zipper, which she stealthily unzipped, slipping her hand inside his pants, rubbing him gently. He laughed and the piano hit a discordant note. The room went silent and Caroline quickly removed her hand. Then, Klaus turned to look at the curious crowd. "Sorry about that," he said. "I was just a little distracted." Then he gave Caroline a look as he started playing again. "You really _are_ a naughty woman, you know that?" But there was a twinkle in his eye. She knew he wasn't really mad at her.

She grinned. "Well, I promised when we left the room I would make this worth your while."

"I'm proud to say you're not a liar," Klaus said. "What do you say we get out a few more songs and then send everyone off to bed?"

But the songs ended sooner then they thought when one of the guests came up with another request: "How about you tell us the story of the ghosts here?" She asked. "I heard that this place is haunted. Is that true?"

"Well, let's think," Caroline said. "Have you noticed any spirit activity?"

"No," the woman said. "But this _is_ our first night here, and don't ghosts usually only come out at night?"

Caroline shrugged. "I really couldn't say. I haven't experienced anything myself, but I _have _heard stories."

"Really?" someone else asked. "What stories have you heard? Tell us! Tell us!" Before Caroline could get a word out, the chant went up. "Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!"

"I think you'd better tell them, love," Klaus whispered in her ear.

"Just a second," Caroline said and led Klaus into the hallway. "I don't know if I want to tell them what happened," she said. "I'm uncomfortable with the idea of using Theodore and Victoria's story to amuse people. It's not amusing! It's tragic!"

"Who says you have to tell them the real story?" Klaus asked. "Why can't you just make something up? How are they gonna know the difference? Besides, you do owe them _something_. You were the one who went and told them you'd seen spirits. And I thought we _were_ gonna use Victoria and Theodore as an angle. I thought that was the whole point."

Caroline sighed. "Well, I guess I changed my mind," she said. "Besides, it will be much more fun making something up." She went back into the music room while Klaus went to get a flashlight. He came back with it a few minutes later and they turned the music room lights off and Caroline flipped the flashlight switch so that her face was illuminated.

"So," she said to everyone who watched her with eager eyes. "You want to hear the story of the ghosts in this house? You're a brave bunch. Cause it's _not_ a pretty story. Once it's over, you're gonna go back to your rooms in pairs and no one will be able to sleep a wink. Does that bother any of you?"

"No!" everyone shouted.

"Okay," She grinned and sat down on the piano bench. "Now let's think of how I should start this story. I think I'll start with 'It was a dark and stormy night..."

All of a sudden, a crash of thunder made everyone scream. "Okay, okay," Caroline said. "I won't start it that way. I'll cut the dramatics and just be honest. One winter, a long time ago, like, before electricity or plumbing or anything, A man and his wife moved in this house. It was the dead of winter and the man had a terrible illness that kept him inside all the time. The couple's nearest neighbor was several miles away. Now, the husband understood that his wife would need some sort of amusement for herself while he recovered, so he ordered a piano for her. But when the piano came, he discovered a problem. It only came with one piece of sheet music and his wife could only play if she had sheet music in front of her. So she played the song over and over and over, slowly descending into madness. Finally, one day her husband couldn't take it any longer and he grabbed an axe, killing his wife and himself. Isn't that a bad story? And just think, none of it would have happened if she'd just had one more piece of sheet music."

After Caroline finished her story, the room was silent for a little while. Finally, a woman said cautiously, "That piano you've been playing for us all night...is that the one that the wife was playing when she got killed?"

"We're not sure," Caroline said. "But it's possible."

She felt a shiver go through the room. "So, who wants to go to bed now?" She asked the crowd.

Without saying a word, the crowd slowly got to their feet and dispersed, some muttering to themselves about how they were glad they hadn't brought their children along.

Once the music room was empty, Klaus turned on the light. "My god, that story was genius! Darkly comical _and_ creepy at the same time. How did you come up with it?"

"I actually saw it on a ghost story show," Caroline said. "The actual version took place at a lighthouse. I hope I didn't give anyone nightmares. I don't want to think I kept people awake."

"Oh, please," Klaus said. "They wanted a scary story and you gave them one. Now, how about we go to our room and I will _let_ you do your best to keep _me_ awake."

Caroline nodded. "Okay. That will probably get rid of my guilt. And I'll have another happy thing to think about: How all the money I earn will be mine and none of it will have to go to my stupid ex-landlord!"

Klaus nodded. "That _is_ good. You earn whatever money we get from this. You shouldn't have to give it away."

"And what are we gonna do about Jack?" Caroline asked. "Should we just keep him here?"

"Of course," Klaus nodded. "Why not? We could always use another set of hands."

They went to their room and were undressing for a night of passion when they heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Klaus called. "Is it an emergency?"

They got no response. Klaus went to open the bedroom door and found something sitting in the hallway next to the door. It was a small music box with a bird on it. Next to the music box was a note: it read, _Another one of Theodore and Victoria's treasures. Enjoy it._

There was no signature.

"Who was it?" Caroline asked. "Is something wrong?"

Klaus turned and saw that she was just standing next to the bed in her underwear. He shook his head and came toward her. "Nothing, love. It's nothing." Then he kissed her again, slipping his hand between her thighs to stroke the hot skin there before pushing into her, over and over until both of them fell asleep.


	15. Smothered

The following Friday, Caroline came in with the mail and plunked it down in front of Klaus. "Nothing much there," she said. "Just the usual catalogues and bills. Oh, and there was a letter for you. From someone named Finn. Who's that?"

Klaus looked at her in amazement. "He's my brother. But how would he know where to find me?" He began throwing magazines and bills on the kitchen floor until he found the envelope with Finn's elegant script on the front of it. He tore it open and read it over, first in his head and then, at Caroline's insistence, out loud:

"_Dear Niklaus: I know we haven't spoken in a very long time, but I heard that you've finally decided to make yourself respectable by running your own business and I would like to come and see whether or not that's true. I shall arrive at your establishment soon, but wanted to let you know ahead of time, so you wouldn't be shocked when I showed up on your doorstep._

_Finn_".

"Wow," Caroline said. "He sounds very serious. Is he?"

Klaus nodded. "Actually, a lot of people in my family are. A thousand years of life experience can do that to you."

"Why didn't it do that to you?" Caroline asked, boosting herself up on the kitchen counter. "You're not serious at all."

Klaus folded the letter and stuck it back in the envelope. "I've seen a lot of things, Caroline," he said. "I've had experiences in my life, both as a human and as a vampire that I would give anything to forget. And when I'm making jokes and just generally being a fool, that's what helps me forget my troubles. That and being with you. That's why I'm not serious."

They maintained an uncomfortable silence for a few moments and then Caroline cleared her throat and jumped off the counter. "Well," she said. "If your brother is coming, we really should start sprucing this place up, shouldn't we? I wanna make you look good for him and the best way to do that will be to make this place look like a nice, clean, respectable establishment."

"Well, all right," Klaus said, following behind her. "Need me to help you move furniture or anything?"

Caroline paused, images of his rippling biceps flashing in her brain. She turned around and grinned at him. "Oh, yes, please," she said.

* * *

They began cleaning the upstairs. Klaus moved the bed and the dresser in their bedroom, acting as if it cost him no effort at all. Then he turned to smirk at Caroline, who was looking at him in amazement. "Love," he said, waving his hand in front of her. "Love, I've moved the bed and the dresser. Don't you want to clean under them?"

"Yeah," Caroline nodded, blinking quickly. "Perfect. Thank you." She turned on the vacuum and vacuumed the floor, while Klaus watched her intently from behind.

As soon as the vacuuming was done, Caroline turned around and put her hands on her hips. "See anything you like?" She asked.

Klaus nodded. "Very much." He strode over to her and ran a finger down her arm, giving her shivers. He leaned forward and tried to kiss her, but she pulled away. "No!" She said sternly. "We need to clean and make this place nice for your brother. Now, help me make the bed."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to make it after we've had our fun on it?" Klaus asked her. "It'll just be more work if we make it up nice and then it gets all wrinkly."

Caroline just rolled her eyes. "Now I can see why your brother worries about you so much," she said. "Can't stay serious for a moment, can you?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "I can't."

Caroline began pulling the sheets off the bed and putting them in a pile. "I should probably clean these," she said. "Lord knows they've been through enough lately."

"I don't see why you have to say it like it's a _bad_ thing," Klaus told her. "Physical affection is a very important part of life."

"I know," Caroline said. "I never said it wasn't! I was just thinking that at the rate we're going, we'll probably have to get a new set of sheets every month!"

Klaus grinned. "I'm glad you think I'm so capable," he said.

"And while we're on the subject," Caroline said, picking up the pile of sheets and blankets and walking to the bathroom down the hall to dump them on the floor there, "When your brother comes, can we give the sex a rest? At least until he leaves again?"

"Why?" Klaus asked. "Finn isn't a prudish man, Caroline. He had a girlfriend once, a long time ago, and they sickened us all with their displays of affection."

"What do you mean he _had_ a girlfriend?" Caroline asked. "Was she human? Did she die?"

Klaus shrugged. "That's the thing, honestly. One day, she and Finn went out into the woods and when he came back, he was alone. We never saw her again after that. I mean, most likely, she died, cause it was when we were human and into our early vampire days that the two of them were together, but who knows?"

"Well that's interesting," Caroline said thoughtfully. "However, in the interest of being tactful, I won't mention it if or until he brings it up. I think that would be kindest."

They headed into the dining room for a break and Klaus poured them each a glass of wine.

"By the way," he asked Caroline, "Do you have any idea where the music box came from? You know, the one with the bird on it?"

Caroline shrugged. "No idea really. I've been thinking about that forever. It couldn't have been Jack who brought it for us. He was busy at the time, and that's much too charitable of an action for him."

"Are you talking about the music box with the bird on it?" Sally asked her.

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "Sally, do you know something?"

"It was me," Sally confessed. "I know how much you and Klaus have been wanting to get all of Victoria and Theodore's things and your family actually has quite a few of them up in the attic of their house. Since it's all pretty much covered in dust and forgotten, I asked if I could take it and bring it here. They said yes, so I did. I'll go and get the other things too, if you'd like."

"Oh, don't be silly, Sally," Klaus said. "We can get the other items ourselves. You don't have to go to all the trouble."

"Or, we could have Jack do it," Caroline suggested. "We have to keep finding ways for him to be useful, don't we?" She grinned.

With a twinkle in his eye, Klaus came to sit down next to her. "You know," he said, "I'm pleasantly surprised at how well you've adjusted to the idea of Jack's position here."

"And why shouldn't I adjust to it?" Caroline asked. "You said yourself that all he did was use me and not give me the sort of relationship that I'm entitled to have."

Klaus nodded. "I know I did, and you can't say that I'm not right. The part that I'm amazed about is that you're okay with us _using_ Jack. I thought you'd be against it."

"Well, I would be if we were _hurting_ him or something, but we're not," Caroline clarified. "We're just making him do our bidding. Now, back to the conversation we were having before we veered off the subject: personally, I don't feel comfortable with having sex while your brother is here."

"We could put him in an entirely different part of the house from ours," Klaus suggested. "Then there will be less of a chance of him hearing us."

"But what will we say when he asks why we're putting him so far away?" Caroline asked.

"Well, if he _does_ ask, which is highly unlikely because he's too polite, we'll tell him the truth. He won't expect anything less from me," Klaus said.

Caroline's jaw dropped. Her eyes widened. She tipped over her wine glass and the wine sloshed all over the table. "You're seriously planning on telling your brother that we're putting him in such an isolated place because we want to have sex and we don't want to disturb him?"

Klaus shrugged. "Yeah. I don't see why we shouldn't. Most people would say that makes us very considerate people. And even as conservative as my brother is, he won't fault us for expressing ourselves physically as long as we're discreet. I guarantee that. So stop worrying, will you?"

* * *

The morning of the day Finn was to arrive found Klaus and Caroline having differing opinions as usual.

"I have to get dressed and go downstairs!" Caroline said as Klaus kissed down her neck. "I'm pretty sure there are dust bunnies that are multiplying and spots I forgot about. Just let me go check, please!" She shut her eyes and moaned as Klaus pushed her back down on the bed. "Stop agonizing over everything," he said. "You've been working yourself and me very hard ever since we found out Finn was coming. Don't you think it's time you gave yourself a break and just_ relaxed_?" He eased himself into her and she let out a giggle.

This segued into frenzied lovemaking until they heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Excuse me," Sally said timidly. "Caroline, yesterday, you told me to let you know when Klaus' brother came. He's here. Are you in a condition to receive him, or should I tell him to wait?"

"Just a minute, Sally!" Caroline called, crawling away from Klaus. "Tell him to wait just a second! We've been busy and we're not ready for him at all!"

"All right," Sally said. "I'll go tell him to wait and that the two of you will be out shortly."

Once she was gone, Caroline sat up, groaning. "I knew this is what would happen if I listened to you!" Caroline said to Klaus. "Now your brother is here and look at us!"

Klaus grinned. "With pleasure," he replied, looking her over boldly. "And don't deny that for the several hours we were here, you were enjoying yourself. You were, weren't you?"

"Yes," Caroline sighed. "But aren't you the least bit interested in making a good impression on your brother? This is a big chance for you."

She managed to coax him out of bed, then she dressed and helped him pick out a suit and tie. Then they went downstairs to face Finn.

They found him sitting in the kitchen with a plate of Sally's cookies in front of him and drinking a cup of tea.

"Sorry we kept you waiting," Caroline apologized, even giving him a small curtsey. "We were busy with something."

"Oh, that's all right," Finn said, standing up and coming over to take Caroline's hand, kissing it lightly before letting it go. "Sally was nice enough to make sure I was taken care of until you arrived." He looked Klaus over. "I have to say, Niklaus, you clean up nice."

"Doesn't he just though?" Caroline asked. "When he told me that he was gonna wear the gray suit and the blue shirt, I was pleased."

Finn nodded. "And as for your establishment, I hope you don't mind, but I've been walking around and having a look at things."

"Oh, yes, that's fine," Caroline said. "I hope you've been enjoying yourself."

"And I hope you didn't find any dust bunnies," Klaus said. "Finn, she's been worried like you wouldn't believe about you finding a dust bunny and judging her for it." He grinned.

Caroline punched him in the arm. "Don't tell him that!" she said. "He's gonna think I'm crazy!"

"Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with being neat," Finn told her. "I hope that eventually, some of that rubs off of you and onto Niklaus."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me," Caroline said. "I've been trying to nudge him into being neater ever since we've moved in here. I can't say I've had total success, but I'd like to think I've made some small progress."

They stood in silence before Klaus said, "So, would you like to see your room? Come with us and we'll show you."

"All right," Finn nodded. "Lead the way."

They led him to a large but homey room with a brass bed covered by an over-sized quilt, a large window, and a bookshelf.

"This will do," Finn said. "It looks very comfortable, thank you."

"Sorry if it's a bit far away from everywhere else," Klaus said. "But Caroline and I are very affectionate toward each other and we don't want to disturb you with that."

"_Oh_," Finn said, his eyes widening a little. "Well, thank you. That's very considerate." He looked around again. "Is all the wood furniture in this room the same age as the house?"

"Yes," Caroline said. "It's all period."

"Good," Finn nodded contentedly.

"Well," Klaus said, clapping his hands. "If there's nothing more we can do for you, we'll let you get yourself settled in. Are your bags still out in your car?"

"I didn't bring any bags," Finn said. "But thank you for offering."

Caroline opened her mouth to say something, but Klaus ushered her out of the room before she could get a word out.

"Why did you make us leave?" Caroline asked when he let her talk again. "What is so wrong with me asking why he didn't bring any extra clothes? We could give him some of yours. You look about the same size."

"I would just leave it alone if I were you, Caroline," Klaus said. "Sometimes my brother has these dark periods and the trick is to just let him get through them and not interfere. That's what's best. Trust me on this."

"All right," Caroline said. "I'll leave him alone to do what he needs to do. I trust you."

* * *

But Klaus' words about Finn and his troubles stuck in Caroline's mind. She had trouble sleeping that night and got up around midnight to go to the kitchen and get herself a glass of warm milk. Everything was quite. Nothing seemed out of place. After she finished her milk, Caroline decided to go up to Finn's room and just peek in to check on him and see if everything was all right. She carefully made her way through the house in the darkness, up the stairs and down the hall, until she reached Finn's room. She opened his door a crack and peeked in. She noticed that he'd surrounded himself with some of the smaller pieces of furniture, and was covered in what smelled strongly like gasoline. She watched in horror as he took a matchbox out of his pocket, lit it, and put it to the gas-soaked shoulder of his shirt.

"No!" Caroline yelled, forcing the door open and running in. "No, you don't!" She said. She grabbed the quilt off the bed and put it around a shocked Finn, hugging it to him in an effort to smother the flames. It took awhile, but finally, the fire was out. Caroline took the blanket off and backed away from Finn.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She asked. "Why are you doing this? What is so wrong in your life that you'd try and kill yourself?"

"It's a long story," Finn said. "Do you have time to listen?"


	16. Terriible At Keeping Secrets

"Well, of course I'll listen," Caroline said, doing her best to stifle a yawn. "I haven't had the best time getting to sleep, so I might as well make myself useful. Now tell me: What's wrong with you?"

"You're going to think I'm being foolish," Finn said. "But if you'd like to know why I'm so upset, I'll tell you. It's about a woman. I know it's not practical. I know it does me absolutely no good to sit here and moan and whine, but I loved her."

"I wouldn't yell at you for being upset because you loved someone," Caroline said, reaching out carefully to put a hand on his arm. "Did she love you too?"

"Yes," Finn nodded. "At least I'm pretty sure she did. Maybe she still does. I haven't seen her in awhile."

"Why not?" Caroline asked. "What happened?"

"We got separated," Finn said. "Niklaus and I had a falling out and he..."

"What did he do?" Caroline asked.

Finn sighed. "He put a dagger in my heart," he said. "Did you know he and I come from the first family of vampires?"

"Yes," Caroline nodded. "He told me that. But what does that have to do with him sticking a dagger in your heart?"

"It was a special dagger," Finn explained. "Covered in white oak ash. It's the only thing with the power to hurt us. And my relationship with Sage disappointed Niklaus, so..."

"He put a dagger in your heart," Caroline finished. "No wonder he was so insistent about making Jack pay for all he did to me and happy when I killed my landlord. That's in his nature to applaud violence, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid it's a part of him," Finn admitted. "And who is Jack?"

"No one," Caroline shook her head. "We shouldn't even be talking about me, I'm sorry. You're the one who's troubled. So, Sage is the woman you love?"

Finn nodded. "That's correct. And I miss her. But I don't know where she is. You wouldn't, by chance, be willing to help me find her, would you?"

Caroline nodded. "Anything to stop you from killing yourself. Cause honestly, that doesn't help anything. Would you rather be alive with Sage or be dead without Sage?"

"Alive of course," Finn said. "She means everything to me. I even turned her into a vampire. She's the only one though. I wouldn't wish the curse on anyone else."

Caroline nodded. "Okay. We have a goal. We are going to find Sage. The question is, where do we begin?"

Well, why don't we start things with you going back to bed and getting some rest?" Finn said to her. "I know you must be tired."

"Are you sure you want me to go?" Caroline asked him. "I mean, you _did_ just set yourself on fire. If you need me to stay with you, I'd be more than happy to."

"Thank you," Finn said, smiling a rare smile. "But I swear to you on my honor that I will be fine. Go back to bed, get yourself some rest, and we'll discuss this more in the morning."

"Well, all right," Caroline said. "If you say so. Good night."

"Good night, Caroline," Finn said.

Caroline left his room, closing the door behind her and walked toward hers, meeting Klaus have way. She saw his figure in the dark, bringing a hand up to strike her. "Wait a minute!" She cried. "Klaus, it's me! Don't hit me!"

"Caroline?" Klaus said, getting some lights on. "Here you are. I wondered where in the world you'd gone."

"Sorry," she said. "I got up to get some warm milk to help me sleep and then I went to check on your brother and he very nearly killed himself, but I saved him, and then we were talking and after that, he told me to go back to bed, so here I am, coming back to bed."

Klaus frowned. "You stopped my brother from killing himself? Why would he want to do a stupid thing like that?"

"Because apparently he's no longer with the woman he loves and you had a hand in that," Caroline said with a frown. "Why would you take him away from his girlfriend?"

"I never liked her," Klaus said. "But in my defense, neither did anyone else. She was beneath him. He could do better."

"Oh, I'm sure she spent a lot of time beneath him," Caroline said. "But what's so wrong with dating someone from a different social class than you? Theodore didn't seem to mind. Neither did your brother. If you think about it, I'm not rich and fancy either, yet you still like me. Or are _we_ somehow different?"

"Yes, we _are_ different!" Klaus said in an angry whisper. "_You_ are not trying to tear me away from my family. _That woman_, Sage, she monopolized every moment of my brother's time, even did her best to turn him against us. So I gave him a choice between her and his family, and he picked her. He even turned her."

"And that's when you daggered him," Caroline said. "How nice. That's something to be proud of."

"Oh, don't you judge me!" Klaus said, his voice rising. "You have no idea why I do what I do!"

"Keep your voice down, damn it!" Caroline said. "You wanna wake up the whole house? Now let's just go back to bed, get some sleep and we'll both feel better in the morning."

* * *

The next morning, Caroline woke up before Klaus did and tried her best to sneak out of the room and meet Finn before Klaus figured out what she was up to. Given the opinion of Sage that he'd given her last night, she doubted he'd be happy that she taking such a big part in a plan whose goal was to bring the woman back into his life. She managed to get out of bed and dress without waking him, but as she reached the bedroom door, he suddenly moaned and turned over, his hand reaching out to the empty spot on the bed beside him. Feeling nothing, his eyes popped open and he sat up, yelling for her.

"It's okay," she said. "It's okay. I'm here. I just have an errand to run and I didn't want to wake you."

Klaus looked at the clock. "What sort of errand would you have to run this early in the morning?"

"Finn and I were just gonna go out to breakfast and talk," Caroline said. "I presume it's okay for us to do that?"

"Well, yes," Klaus nodded. "Why wouldn't it be? But does it have to be right this minute? Can't you spend some time with me first?"

"You know I love spending time with you," Caroline said. "And we can do it when I get back. It's just that this thing with Finn is very important and it's going to take us awhile to work out all the details, so I have to leave as soon as possible."

Klaus sighed, getting out of bed and coming toward her. He was naked and made no effort whatsoever to cover himself up. "Well, if it's so incredibly important, I suppose I'll let you go, but you have to do something for me first."

"What is it?" Caroline asked. "Wait a minute. Don't tell me. I think I have a pretty good idea."

"I just want a kiss!" Klaus said, drawing her to him. "I don't know what _you_ were thinking of, you dirty-minded woman!"

Caroline scoffed. "Oh, bullshit!" She said. "You were so thinking of something dirtier than that. Don't you lie to me and make _me_ look like the perverted one." But she leaned into him and kissed him anyway. His arms came up around her and went down her waist until they were able to undo the button and zipper on her pants. He slipped his hand inside her jeans and began rubbing her.

"Oh, my, god," Caroline said. "Oh, my god."

"You want me to keep going, don't you?" Klaus asked.

"I shouldn't, cause I have to go, but it feels so _good,"_ Caroline replied.

"Come on, Caroline," Klaus whispered against her neck. "I'm sure that the errand you're going on isn't so important that it can't wait an hour or two."

"I guess," Caroline said. "And _only_ two hours at the most?"

Klaus grinned. "I'm being kind." He picked her up and carried her back to the bed, slipping her pants off and swirling his tongue around inside her.

"Oh, my god," Caroline gasped. "Oh, my god."

Klaus paused and grinned wickedly at her. "You taste so good," he said.

"Do I?" Caroline asked.

"Yes," Klaus got up on his knees and leaned forward to kiss her deeply on the lips. Then, he kissed under her chin and nipped at her neck.

"Oh, my gosh," Caroline said. "I'm so glad you convinced me to stay. Finn and I were gonna go looking for Sage today, but it's not like he knows where she is. He can wait another day, right?"

When he heard this, Klaus paused and told Caroline to put her pants back on. When she had, he gave her a severe look. "You were going with my brother to help him find Sage?"

"Yes, I was," Caroline said. "I mean, yes I am. I don't care if it upsets you. He loves her, she's gone and it's _your_ fault they're separated, okay? When I found him last night, he was so miserable without her that he set himself on _fire_, okay? I had to do a flying tackle with a blanket to get the flames stopped and keep the house from burning down."

"Why are you telling me this?" Klaus asked her quietly. "I presume Finn told you not to."

"That's true, he did tell me not to tell you, but that was the one thing that would end our little love fest. You'd get mad enough at me to stop. And besides, I think it would go a lot faster if there were three of us looking," Caroline said. "Come on, Klaus. You at least owe Finn that much."

"I do not owe him anything!" Klaus said. "He chose that woman over his own family! Why would I want to bring them together again? What good would it do me?"

"Not everything a person does in their life should always benefit them," Caroline said. "Sometimes, people should just do things for others because they want to make other people happy. Can't you do that for your brother? Or are you so self-absorbed that you can't do things unless there's something in it for you?"

Klaus couldn't think of a response for that. Caroline just shook her head in disgust. "Fine," she said. "You just stay here, by yourself, alone. I am going to do the _right_ thing and help your brother find the woman he loves!" And with that, she strode out of the room, got in the car, and went to meet Finn.

* * *

"Caroline!" Finn said as he came toward her and hesitantly, briefly put his arms around her. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

"Yeah," Caroline said, flushing a little. "I meant to be stealthy when I started to leave the house, but your brother caught me, of course, and did everything he could to keep me home. That is, until I told him why I was coming, and he wasn't too happy about that. I'm sorry if you just wanted to keep that between us."

"No," Finn said. "You did what you had to do."

"So," Caroline said, sitting down. "Where do you want to start looking for Sage?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could start where I used to live," Finn said. "It was where I saw her last."

"And where was it that you used to live?" Caroline asked. "Is it a long way from here?"

"No," Finn shook his head. "A little town called Mystic Falls. Do you know it?"

"Yeah!" Caroline nodded. "In fact, I used to live there."

"Did you?" Finn asked. "How interesting."

They sat there talking about the Mystic Falls Caroline had grown up in and the Mystic Falls Finn had grown up in until they heard someone nearby clear their throat.

"Hello, Niklaus," Finn said, looking at his brother and standing up. "What brings you here? And how did you know where we were?"

"This is one of Caroline's favorite places," Klaus said. "Naturally, it was the first place I looked."

"Well, unless you've come to say you plan to help us, you can go home," Caroline said.

"I _do_ plan to help you find Sage, but here's what the two of you have to do for me," Klaus said. "After you two find each other again, you have to play the lead roles in a dramatized version of the story of Theodore and Victoria."

"Who are Theodore and Victoria?" Finn asked Caroline.

"They're the ghosts that haunt our inn," Caroline said. "He was an ancestor of mine, and rich. Victoria was a family maid and the love of his life."

"Oh," Finn nodded. "Well, I suppose there are worse things you could ask me to do. All right, Niklaus."

Klaus grinned. "All right, Finn. Let's find your lady love."


	17. All In Its Place

"How do we start?" Caroline asked. "Do we even know where she is?" They looked at Finn and he shrugged. "No idea," he said. "None at all."

"Are you serious, Finn?!" Klaus asked. "You want us to find this woman, yet you have no idea where she is!"

"If I knew where she was, I wouldn't need your help looking for her, would I, Niklaus?" Finn asked through his teeth. "You should have known this wasn't going to be easy before you came here. If you don't plan on being helpful, you can just go home!"

"Of course he plans on being helpful," Caroline said, placing a restraining hand on Klaus' arm as he began to walk away. "He's your brother and I'm sure he wants to do whatever he can to make sure you're happy."

"I do?" Klaus asked.

"Well, yeah!" Caroline said with wide eyes. "Of course you do." Still keeping a firm grip on Klaus, she turned back to Finn. "So where would be the best place to start looking for Sage? Where was the last place you saw her?"

"It was at home," Finn said. "I turned her, Niklaus found out about it and I never saw her again."

Caroline looked at Klaus. "Just where is home?" She asked him.

"Well, where's home for you?" Klaus asked. "Where were you born? Where did you grow up?"

"It's a good thing you clarified it with those questions," Caroline said. "Because if you asked me where I considered home now, I would say with you, at the inn."

"Well, isn't that sweet?" Finn asked, a small grin appearing on his face.

"Now look what you did!" Klaus yelled at Caroline. "You can't say stuff like that about me in front of him!"

"Why not?" Caroline asked. "What's wrong with that?"

Finn was grinning more widely now. "Because my brother is afraid I will tease him mercilessly," he said.

"And will you?" Caroline asked.

"No!" Finn said. "I'm happy he found someone who can handle a man as difficult as he is and still be able to enjoy themselves. You must be an extraordinary woman, Caroline."

Caroline flushed a little. "Thank you. Now, where could Sage be? Where's home?"

"Oh, I don't know what they call it now," Finn said. "It has a different name than when we lived there." He looked at Klaus. "Do _you_ know what it's called, brother?"

"Mystic Falls, I think," Klaus said.

"I know that town!" Caroline told them. "I used to live there. That's where I grew up!"

"Well, what a charming coincidence," Finn said. "Now, does one of you drive? I don't. I want to get there as soon as possible."

"Of course," Caroline told him. "But before we go, your brother and I have some loose ends that need to be tied up."

"You mean Jack?" Klaus asked.

"Who else would I mean?" Caroline asked. "We should make him do something extremely repetitive that will drive him insane, then take our sweet time getting to Mystic Falls and back. He'll probably be really worked up by the time we return." She did an evil laugh.

"Who's Jack?" Finn asked.

"Her bastard of an ex-husband," Klaus said. "And I'm ashamed to say he used to be a friend of mine as well."

"You have to admit though, if it weren't for him and his coldheartedness, we never would have met," Caroline said.

"Well, yes," Klaus said, taking her against him, even in front of Finn. "That, my dear, is why he's only working for us and not dead."

"Oh," Caroline nodded. "Good point."

Finn cleared his throat. "Can we stop the idle chatter and go some place where there's a car? _Please_?"

Klaus and Caroline looked at him, then looked at one another and rolled their eyes. "Well, okay," Caroline said. "Since you did say please." She led them over to the car she'd brought. "Did you two walk here?" She asked them.

Klaus shrugged. "It's not that far."

"No," Finn agreed. "It's not."

"Well, you can't walk to Mystic Falls," Caroline told them, opening one of the doors to the backseat. "So get in."

"I don't know if it would be good for both of us to sit in the back," Klaus said.

"Why not?" Caroline asked. "I trust you not to start fights with each other."

"Oh, come on!" Klaus said. "I want to sit next to you in the front!"

"Fine!" Caroline groaned in exasperation. "Klaus, you sit in the front next to me, and Finn, would you mind sitting in the back?"

"No," Finn said. "Of course I wouldn't mind at all." He got in the backseat and they drove home without incident. Jack met them at the door. "I wondered where you were," he said. "We got some more reservations and Sally went and picked up a few more of Theodore's valuables. I put them on the kitchen table for you to have a look at."

"And we will, in a bit," Caroline told him. "We have some errands to do that require us to leave town for a bit. I don't know when we're gonna be back, so just keep taking reservations and whatever else it is that you do and make sure the place doesn't burn to the ground, okay?"

Jack nodded. "All right."

"He doesn't _seem_ like such a bad man," Finn said as the three of them headed out the door and back to the car. "Is this a time you're overdramatizing things, Niklaus?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "He's definitely not overdramatizing anything. Jack used to be the worst sort of SOB imaginable until we reprogrammed him. Now he just does whatever we say. He works for us and we don't even have to pay him. We're saving so much money!"

Finn just gave her a look. Then, he looked at his brother. "What have you done to her, Niklaus? It isn't fair that you rubbed off on her, but she never rubbed off on you. When am I going to see you start behaving responsibly?"

"I don't know," Klaus said. "Perhaps when you least expect it." He then gave Finn a wink and got into the front passenger seat next to Caroline and Finn took a seat in the back, and they pulled out of the driveway, making their way to Mystic Falls.

* * *

The ride there was quiet, at Caroline's insistence, although Klaus kept smirking at her. At one point, she felt something go down her thigh and over her knee and she did her best not to jump too much and jolt the wheel. She looked down at a stoplight and saw that it was Klaus' hand, which at that point, was resting quite comfortably and naturally on her knee.

"May I help you?" She asked him.

"No," he shook his head. "I'm quite comfortable where I am, thanks."

"I can't concentrate on driving if your hand is there, so move it!" Caroline said. "_Now_."

"Well, fine," Klaus replied. "But you're really taking the fun out of this drive."

Finn squirmed uncomfortably in the backseat. "Please tell me it's not much longer until we get there."

"Oh, I'll make sure you don't have too much longer to wait," Caroline told him while glaring at Klaus. "Trust me."

They reached Mystic Falls without too much trouble, parked the car in an abandoned lot near the quarry and then got out to look around.

"It's really changed, hasn't it?" Klaus asked Finn.

"Yes," Finn nodded. "There used to be so many more...trees and things. It was a much more _natural_ place. Now it...isn't."

"So do you two need time to explore, or what?" Caroline asked. "Whatever you want to do, just tell me."

"No need," Finn told her. "Let's get to work, shall we?"

"Isn't that cute?" Klaus asked, nudging Caroline. "Look at him being so eager."

"Well, can you blame him?" Caroline replied. "He loves her and thanks to you, who _knows_ how long they've been apart?"

"I couldn't even tell you," Finn answered. "I honestly have no idea."

"Well, then are we gonna sit here groaning and complaining about how long you've been apart, or at least make a concerted effort to get you two kids back together?" Klaus' voice was impatient.

Finn frowned at him for a second, then nodded, squaring his shoulders. "All right," he said. "Let's go. Niklaus, you lead the way."

Caroline thought Klaus would have to do a lot of looking around, but he didn't. He led her and Finn to a set of caves a mile or two away from the parking lot and gestured for them to go inside.

They strode inside, walking slowly and trying to keep close together in the darkness. After a time, they reached a large, open space in the cave where the top was open and light shone through, down on a section of the cave wall where a line of large boulders (four, to be precise), protruded.

"What are those for?" Caroline asked.

"That's where everyone was," Klaus told her. "Where I put all my siblings when they caught me on a bad day. None of them are there now, of course, but-"

"Do I have to worry?" Caroline asked him. "Are you gonna plan out a nice little cubbyhole in a cave for me if things ever go wrong with us?"

"No," Klaus said. "I don't have any intention of doing that, now or ever. I've changed since I first banished everyone. That's why they're allowed to walk out and about now." He went over to one of the cubbyholes, and with a grunt, pulled the rock out. "See?" He indicated the open space to Caroline. "Empty. Nothing to worry about."

Just then, they heard footsteps coming toward them.

"Who the hell could that be?" Klaus whispered.

"I don't know," Caroline shook her head. "Should we hide?"

"Perhaps," Finn answered. "Just until we can establish who's coming." They hid behind a rock and watched as a young woman wearing black with long red hair that was a great contrast to it, came into the room, putting her hand on one of the boulders and sniffling.

"Well, I'm here, Finn." She said, her voice echoing on the cave walls. "You probably always think that I'll forget, but I don't. I told you when your brother first stuck you in here that I would come and visit you every day until he finally decided to let you out and I promise I haven't missed a day.

"I know you probably think that makes me silly. That I should, you know, move on with my life instead of dwelling in the past, and I _have_ moved on, in a sense. But I have to say that I'm not really happy. Not like I was when I was with you."

"Oh, for the love of god," Klaus whispered angrily. "Do we have to keep listening to this?"

"Hush!" Caroline said. But her voice echoed and the woman froze dropping to the ground and casting a hunted look around the cave. "Who is it?" She called. "Who's there?"

"That's your cue, loverboy," Klaus whispered, nudging Finn from their hiding place. "Go get her!"

"Niklaus, no!" Finn whispered, as he was pushed into the woman's sight. "Don't do this! I-" But it was too late. The woman saw him before he could scramble back to safety.

When she saw him, she slowly rose to her feet, eyes wide. "Finn?" She asked in a shaky voice. "Finn, is that you?"

"Yes, Sage," he nodded, swallowing and making his way toward her. They reached one another, stared at each other to make sure they were real, and then embraced each other tightly. "I thought you were gone," she said.

He nodded. "I was, for quite some time. Then Niklaus' attitude improved and he let me out, but by then, I had no idea where you were, so I just...I kept to myself. I've missed you, Sage."

Sage nodded, resting her head on his chest. "I've missed you too. Although, as you probably heard, I've not spent all these years alone."

"Well, that's all right," Finn told her. "I wouldn't have wanted you to be unhappy just for me."

They then hurt the over-exaggerated sound of someone clearing their throat. "You're not alone," Sage said, pulling away from Finn. "Who's with you?"

"You'll know one person, but you won't know the other," Finn said. "Just relax and I'll call them out. Do you promise to relax?"

"Sure," Sage nodded. "Why?"

Finn turned. "Niklaus! Caroline! Come out and meet Sage!"

Sage's eyes widened. "Niklaus? What's he doing here?"

When Klaus appeared, she rushed him and began hitting him with her fists. Klaus gave Finn a look. "Would you get her away from me, please, brother?"

"Yes," Finn said and pulled a protesting Sage away from him. "Sage, he's better now, I promise. He won't try to put me back in the hole or anything. You don't have to worry."

"And even if he was planning on it," Caroline added. "I wouldn't let him." She went up to Sage and stuck out her hand. "Hi," she said. "I'm Caroline." Sage looked back and forth from Klaus to Caroline in surprise. "Are they together?" She asked Finn in shock.

"I was as surprised as you," Finn said. "But she's a good influence on him. I promise you. It was she who encouraged me to try once again to find you."

By then, Caroline had put her hand down, but to her surprise, Sage finally grabbed it and held it for a few seconds. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much."

They stood like this for a few seconds and then Finn caught Klaus' eye. Klaus was beginning to fidget with impatience and he had a grumpy look in his eye.

"Why don't we go somewhere else, Sage?" Finn suggested. "I'm sure you don't want to stay in this cave. Do you?"

"Well, no!" Sage answered. "Where are we going now?"

"We have a hotel," Caroline volunteered. "Finn's staying there right now. Why don't you come too, Sage?"

"Well, all right," Sage replied. "I'd love to."

"Good," Caroline nodded with satisfaction. "Let's go to the car then. It's not that far from here."

She led Finn and Sage out of the cave and as they walked back to the car, Klaus came to stand beside her. "Why'd you have to invite her to come?" He asked.

"Because it's a nice thing to do," Caroline said. "And I might have a talk with them later about whether or not they want to get married too. The ballroom would be a good place for that, don't you think?"

"Do you really think this is necessary?" Klaus groaned. "Why can't you just leave things alone? Why do you always have to push?"

"I'm not pushing," Caroline said. She walked up to Sage and tapped her on the shoulder. "I have a question for you," she said. "I'm sorry if it's a little personal and if you want me to mind my own business, just go ahead and say so, but if the two of you want to make up for lost time and be married while you're staying with us, we'd be happy to put something together for you."

"You would?" Sage asked in surprise. "Well, I confess I've never really been the romantic type, but when you've been apart as long as we have..." She looked at Finn. "What do you think?" She asked. "Do you want to get married?"

"Do _you_ want to get married?" Finn asked Sage. They stared at each other in silence and said at the same time, "I do!"

"Well, goody," Caroline said with a grin. "Looks to me like we've got a wedding to plan."

* * *

Finn and Sage's wedding happened the same night as the premiere of the play about Theodore, Victoria and their romance. By then, all the antiques had been found and returned to the house, and since there had been no noise from Victoria's spirit once the final object was inside, Caroline assumed that both Theodore and Victoria were at peace. She really hoped that was true.

Klaus had been in a sour mood all day, insisting that something was gonna go wrong. To everyone's surprise, everything went off without a hitch. The play was met with wild applause, especially when Finn and Sage came out holding hands for their bow.

After the play was over, Caroline said that the audience could either go about their evenings or stay for a special surprise. To her surprise, everyone stayed. They all stood when Sage came down the aisle, and cheered when both Finn and Sage said "I do." As the pair marched back down the aisle, Sage winked at Caroline and mouthed "Thank you."

"See?" Caroline said, nudging Klaus once everything was all over. "I told you it would be okay. Finn and Sage are great, Theodore and Victoria are at peace, and you and I...well, I don't know _what_ we are, but I wouldn't change it for the world." She hugged him. Klaus resisted for a second or two and then hugged her back. "You drive me crazy," he said. "But I love you anyway."

Caroline looked up in surprise. "You love me?" She asked. "You never said."

"Well, I do," he replied. "But do me a favor: No shouting it from the rooftops, okay? Keep it to yourself."

"Well, all right," Caroline said. "I'll give it my best shot, but I make no guarantees." She grinned. "And by the way, I love you too."

** The End**


End file.
